


Accidentally In Love

by LongLostMarbles



Category: Study Series - Maria V. Snyder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:22:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 72,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23535220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LongLostMarbles/pseuds/LongLostMarbles
Summary: Ever wondered what might have happened if Yelena had somehow ended up with Janco instead of Valek? Inspired by the number of characters in Magic Study who mistake Janco for Yelena's heartmate.(Title in progress - currently named after the Counting Crows song because it's been stuck in my head and kind of fit - I promise it's not a songfic though lol)
Relationships: Yelena Zaltana/Janco
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

“This is ridiculous. We’ve been looking for hours and there’s no sign of her anywhere.” Janco complained as they continued to trek through the forest, carefully scanning the ground and the surroundings for any sign of the fugitive. The poison taster, of all people. This should have been easy and should have finished hours ago - but somehow no-one had been able to find her and they were now stuck in the forest. He wasn’t looking forward to returning to where Captain Parfett had ordered them to meet at the end of the day for their final briefing. He would be furious with the situation and would take it out on them - the only two in the group who hadn’t been chosen by the Captain and had instead been assigned directly by Valek. His chest puffed out slightly as he smirked, remembering the Captains expression as Valek had told him they would be joining the group. Chosen by Valek personally for a military exercise - a far cry from where he had started out.

His partner, Ari, shook his head and raised an eyebrow as he stopped to check something out on the floor. Dismissing it, they carried on. “Stop complaining and keep looking. There’s got to be some sign of her somewhere in the forests. And anyway, I seem to recall you were excited about this exercise this morning. You managed to spill porridge down your shirt because you were waving your spoon around too enthusiastically, describing how you were going to find her within the first hour. And Gareth almost punched you because you told him about being chosen by Valek for the hundredth time.”

“Well Gareth didn’t get chosen,  _ did _ he?” Janco smirked and paused suddenly as he stared out into the darkening forest, the trees so close together that he could barely see through them in places. Had he seen something?

“See anything?” Ari called out, several metres away as he inspected a nearby patch of flowers. Probably checking to see whether they had been trampled.

“No. All clear.” he replied with annoyance. His eyes were tired from staring at the same trees and forest floor in a desperate attempt to find any sort of sign of the girl. They continued forwards, pushing through the dense under-bush which filled the area. Janco sighed. There was no way she could have come through here - there would be snapped branches, trampled flowers, footprints. There were none of these. Everything was in perfect order. He itched at his face, slapping at it as he felt something rest on his face. Probably a midge. They seemed particularly attracted to the face paint they had to wear - probably thought he was a tasty snack to eat. He  _ was  _ a tasty snack, but that was beside the point. He wasn’t here for the midges to nibble on. Ari was busy pulling off a sharp bramble which he had become tangled in, yanking it off with a quiet grunt.

“Stupid idea, going east. She’s probably at the southern border by now.” Janco grumbled, flicking a bug off his shoulder that had fallen from the trees above. He glanced up briefly, wondering whether he was walking under a bug nest or something. Did bugs even live in nests?

Ari huffed and gestured in the direction that they had come from. “That’s what the dog boys figured, even though the hounds lost her scent.”

Janco sighed as he considered the other team, led by Captain Etta. They were probably going to find her soon and then they could all retire back to the barracks and he could have a nice warm bath. Wash off all the grime that he was covered in. The face paint was beginning to itch and he was sweating with the growing heat. The days were getting hotter and longer as they entered the hot season, and these tight dark camouflage suits weren’t helping.

“I don’t know if I follow the logic of going east,” he complained, even though he knew what the response would be. They were being punished by Captain Parfett for being chosen by Valek. How  _ dare  _ they be considered good enough in Valek’s eyes to be assigned to this mission.

Ari sighed loudly and Janco could sense his exasperation. “You’re not supposed to follow the logic. The Captain ordered us east; we go east. He seems to think she’ll head deeper into MD-5. Familiar territory for her.”

Of course she would like it there. According to the rumours and gossip, the poison taster had grown up in MD-5 at General Brazell’s orphanage. He had clothed her, fed her, given her a good education and she had repaid him by murdering his only son. She should have seen the noose, not be given a second chance at the castle. Something nagged at his mind and he frowned.

“Well, what if she doesn’t come back? Another stupid idea using the food taster. She’s a criminal.”

“That’s not our concern. That’s Valek’s problem. I’m sure if she got away he would take care of her.”

Janco nodded thoughtfully, reaching up and scratching the scar on his right ear. Or at least, what remained of it. Of course Valek would track her down and take care of the situation. He admired the man’s tracking skills. He wouldn’t have had to spend the whole day looking for her - he would have found her within the first hour most likely. Or maybe even sooner.

Ari sighed and gestured off into the forest, having glanced up at the sky in a futile attempt to see the sun through the thick foliage. “Let’s go. We’re supposed to rendezvous with the Captain at the lake for a progress report briefing. Oh and try to keep the noise down. You sound like a panicked moose crashing through the forest.” As if to highlight his point, Janco took a step forward and a branch snapped loudly beneath his foot. Ari rolled his eyes and began to set off.

Janco stuck out his tongue at his friend’s back, huffing slightly as he followed. “Oh yeah. Like you could hear me over your specially trained ‘woodland-animal footsteps’. It was like listening to two deer humping each other.”

They both laughed and continued down the path again, each taking a side as they headed back to the lake.

\---

Lake Keyra was a large lake on the edge of MD-5 and as Janco and Ari waited for more men to arrive, Janco kicked small stones into the water, watching as they made a loud splash before sinking to the bottom of the clear lake. It sparkled in the bright sunshine and Ari pointed out a couple of different fish to his friend. They argued for a little while over a fish that swam past, both trying to decide what breed it was. It was long gone by the time they finally concluded on a breed. They were both wrong.

“Sweethearts, stop having a moment and get your asses over here.” the Captain yelled at them and they reluctantly returned to the group of scouts, most of which were smirking at the duo. They ignored them. “Right. I want you to split off into your groups again and take these different routes.”

He handed each group a slip of paper with new orders on and Ari and Janco peered at theirs sceptically. It told them to head south-west. In completely the opposite direction to their previous route. It just went to show that the Captain had no idea where she was. Janco huffed a laugh and after a few more barks and insults from the Captain, they retreated back into the forest and began to follow a small path through the forest. Small saplings lined the path and they moved carefully, pausing as Janco dropped down to the ground. He looked at one of the saplings which had broken, leaning downwards in a sad droop.

“This is broken. Someone has stepped on it. The ground around it is slightly indented as well, more so on this side.” he gestured to the ground and Ari crouched down to have a look himself. Janco looked up and gestured in a direction slightly off the route they were taking. “She’s going this way.”

Standing up with matching grins, they continued in the direction of the footprint, re-energised by the hope of catching her. They found several more clues along the way, the occasional snapped branch and scuff marks. The clues were few and far apart and they often found themselves questioning whether they were actually evidence of a fugitive. However, they continued. A couple of broken branches and the hint of a footprint led them onto a wider path which Janco suspected was the continuation of the path they had been following previously, having looped around whilst following the various signs. 

“She’s heading for the Sitian border.” Janco murmured as they continued down the path, looking out for clues, but they seemed to have disappeared. It was getting darker as twilight approached and it was getting harder to see. How had they  _ still  _ not caught her? Although, he considered with bitter amusement, he wouldn’t have put it past the Captain to have found the girl and let them continue searching the forest aimlessly as it got darker and the creatures of the night began to emerge. Maybe he hoped that they never came back.

He was about to say something when Ari wrapped a large hand around his mouth and pulled him into the shrubbery that grew alongside the path. Hitting his partner, he managed to release himself from the paw that covered his mouth but when he heard the loud crunching of footsteps, he realised why Ari had pulled him off the path. Someone was coming. The footsteps were uneven, the person was stumbling. Probably from exhaustion and fatigue. They peered through the bushes and Janco grinned when he saw the small figure of the Commander’s poison taster stumbling along the path. She looked exhausted, covered with filth and what appeared to be large leaves. Her red uniform was barely visible through the mud and he begrudgingly admired her camouflage skills. As she passed the bushes where they hid, he let out a war cry and leapt out of the bush, ignoring and evading Ari’s attempts to grab him and pull him back into the shrubbery.

He landed on the girl’s back, knocking her to the down and pinning her to the ground as he sat on top of her. “Got you!” he grinned and yanked her arms behind her, holding them tight as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of manacles and snapping them around her wrists. He didn’t miss the fading bruises and old scars that were already there. Probably from her time in the dungeon.

Ari climbed out of the shrubbery and let out a loud sigh as he took in his friend, perched on top of the poison taster. “Isn’t that a bit much, Janco?”

Janco glared at him and climbed off the girl’s back, pulling her to her feet. “She was too damn hard to find. I don’t want her getting away.” He turned back to the girl and glared at her, her green eyes glaring back at him. Panic flickered in her eyes and she looked like she was ready to run. “You made us look bad. Every soldier out here is probably going to be reassigned. We’ll all be cleaning out the latrines ‘cause of you.” He shuddered at the thought of cleaning out the latrines around the castle, and worst of all in the barracks. They were filthy and the smell was awful sometimes.

Ari shook his head, putting a hand on Janco’s shoulder. “That’s enough Janco.  _ We  _ won’t be scrubbing floors. We found her. And take a look at that getup. No-one expected her to go camo, that’s why she was so hard to find. But, still, the Captain’s gonna shit when he sees this!”

The girl glanced about nervously, her eyes narrowing slightly when Ari mentioned the Captain. Janco watched her warily. “And the Captain’s back at the castle?” she asked, her voice holding a hopeful tone. Janco wondered why she was so desperate to get back to the castle. Surely that’s the last place she would want to go.

Ari shook his head. “No. He’s leading a line farther southwest. We’ll have to report to him.”

She sighed and Janco scowled. She was in no position to complain about having to trek through the forest some more. “How about you send Janco here to find the Captain, while we head to the castle.”

Why was she so desperate to return to the castle? This was probably some plan of hers, Janco mused. Send him away so that Ari was on his own, and then she would try and take down Ari. Good luck with that. 

“Sorry, but we’re not permitted to split up. We’re required to travel in pairs, no exceptions.” She looked disappointed and Janco couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Um...” he started, but then realised with a jolt that he didn’t actually know her name. She had always just been ‘the poison taster’ in his mind. He hadn’t seen her properly before, and he was somewhat surprised by her appearance. Having heard all these rumours about her brutally murdering Brazell’s son, he had formed this image of some bulky woman covered in scars, with a murderous glint to her eye. Not this thin, small girl that stood before them with a nervous buzz surrounding her. She looked like she could barely hurt a fly, let alone murder someone who was at least twice her size.

“Yelena.” she supplied.  _ Yelena _ . A curious name. But then, he wasn’t really one to talk. He wondered what it meant. He hadn’t heard it before.

“Why are you so anxious to get back?”

He could see her make a split decision and she glanced down at the ground as she answered. “I’m afraid of the dark.”

Ari snorted. “Somehow I doubt that. Janco, take the cuffs off her. She’s not going to run away. That’s not the point of this exercise.”

Janco hesitated as he watched Yelena give Ari a grateful glance. When she saw the hesitation in his gaze, she offered him a firm look and a gentle smile.

“You have my word Janco. I won’t run if you take off the manacles.”

He paused, but then grumbled to himself as he rummaged around for the key. Stupid Ari. Stupid Yelena. It was only the relief of this exercise being over that kept him from snapping. He unlocked the cuffs and she flexed her wrists, wiping the dirt from her face. When she didn’t immediately bolt, Janco began to relax slightly and nodded when she thanked him. He gestured to Ari, realising that she didn’t know his name yet.

“He’s Ardenus.” he could feel Ari bristle as he used his friend’s full name and he hid his smirk. Ari glared at him but held out his hand to Yelena, making Janco raise an eyebrow in surprise. It was an honour for a soldier to extend his hand. It meant they viewed you as an equal. Janco kept his hands tucked firmly behind his back.

“Ari, for short.” Yelena shook it, a grave look on her face, signalling that she understood the importance of the handshake and they set off to find the Captain.

\---

It took them a while and Janco had watched as Yelena stumbled down the path. He had shared several looks with Ari but neither of them had moved to help her. They were both preparing themselves for their encounter with their Captain. It wasn’t going to end well.

When they eventually caught up with the Captain in a small clearing, he fumed and blustered when he saw Yelena. He glared at the trio and let out a sharp laugh. The other soldiers gave them looks of annoyance and jealousy. Janco just grinned back at them.

“Well, well, well. Look what our two sweethearts finally found.” Janco noticed the sweat that was rolling down the sides of the Captain’s face, soaking his collar. Looks like he wasn’t the only one suffering from the heat. “I’m  _ supposed  _ to have the best scouts in Commander Ambrose’s guard.” He turned to Ari and Janco and started shouting at them, standing a mere metre away from them. Both of them stood, straight-back and emotionless. “Maybe you could enlighten us as to which procedure you followed that took you over seventeen hours to find the bitch!”

Janco flinched slightly at the words and glanced at Yelena. She didn’t seem to mind the insults being thrown her way and instead appeared to have tuned out. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly and he returned his gaze to the Captain who was slowly turning purple as he yelled at them. The soldiers around them, relieved they weren’t the subject of the Captain’s abuse, began to smirk and relax as they waited for the tantrum to finish.

“Nix, put the bitch in manacles. I see our two prima donnas can’t be bothered to follow this unit’s standard procedures.”

Janco scowled as a man stepped forwards, Nix, and he sneered at the trio. He could sense Yelena getting jumpy beside him but before he could do anything, Ari had put a hand on her shoulder.

“We have her word, sir, that she won’t run off.” Ari stated firmly. Janco glanced at Yelena and she still looked like she wanted to sprint. He didn’t blame her, to be honest. The Captain snorted at Ari’s words and Janco’s eyes narrowed.

“Like that means anything.” Parfett spat on the ground and Janco knew Ari was getting angry.

“She has given her word.” Ari repeated, a low rumble to his voice as he stood his ground. Parfett reluctantly allowed procedure to be changed and Janco felt Yelena slouch with relief beside him. Everyone knew not to mess with Ari. Taking out his bad temper on the rest of the soldiers, he had everyone fast march back to the castle.

Janco and Ari walked either side of Yelena, acting both to stop her running away but also to shield her from the glares of the other soldiers. In particular, Nix’s. Ari explained the bad temper to Yelena as Janco glanced at the soldiers surrounding him. Most of them were ignoring him but he couldn’t help but notice Nix glaring at the trio with a malicious scowl.

When they joined up with the dog team, all the dogs immediately rushed to Yelena with wagging tales and Janco felt his mood lighten slightly as he watched her smile and scratch their ears. Order was restored when the Captain yelled at everyone and Porter commanded the dogs to return to him. Obediently they reorganised themselves and Janco shuddered slightly. There was definitely something weird about Porter’s control over those dogs.

Ari and Janco were drawn away from Yelena as Captain Etta moved to walk beside her, asking her questions about her escape. The duo kept their eyes on her, watching for any trouble, but nothing arose and they eventually lost sight of her entirely and returned to the barracks. After a few more tantrums from Captain Parfett, Janco eventually found himself clean and lying back in his cot as everyone retired for the evenings. It was too late for dinner and his stomach growled slightly in the quiet darkness, but he ignored it. He couldn’t help but feel a strange satisfaction from the day. He and Ari had managed to find the poison taster.  _ Yelena _ , he reprimanded himself. She had a name. As he drifted off, his thoughts lingered on the strange girl he had met that day. She definitely wasn’t what he had been expecting.


	2. Chapter 2

Yelena was slouched in a chair outside the Commander’s office, barely able to move, when Captains Etta and Parffet left the office. Parffet threw a dark look in her direction but when the Captain saw her struggling to rise, Etta came over and helped her out of the chair.

“Thanks.” She nodded and told Yelena that the Commander was ready for her report, bidding her a good night and leaving the room. Yelena paused outside the office, the bright lights of the lanterns inside blinding her slightly and she blinked a couple of times to try and adjust to the light. They had walked back in almost complete darkness and the hallways and rooms outside of the Commander’s office had also been dimly lit. The Commander called her inside and she followed his order, crossing through the doorway into the office and taking up a position before his desk, standing and waiting for him to speak.

“Report.”

Yelena told the Commander the same description of the day's events that she had told Valek, and then explained how they had encountered the caravan and Valek’s orders to return to the castle. The Commander listened with a blank face, and nodded when she had concluded my report.

“So Ari and Janco didn’t capture you?”

“No, but they were the only ones who even came close. They passed right below a tree I hid in, and were skilled enough to track Valek for a while.”

The Commander’s golden eyes were sharp as he gazed past her, absorbing and processing the information. He nodded his head and made a couple of quick notes to himself. Yelena’s mind drifted to the two men that had captured her. So different from one another but their differences just seemed to complement one another. They were certainly skilled - she hadn’t exaggerated in her report. Even Valek had seemed impressed that they had managed to track him for a while. She thought back to when they had walked right beneath her.  _ She’s a criminal.  _ It was Janco, she realised now, who had said that - and it was true. To them, she was just a criminal. However, despite that, they had both treated her with respect when they had ‘caught’ her, Ari going so far as to offer his hand. Both had defended her when Parfett had tried to chain her up again. They could have easily treated her like the criminal they thought she was, but they didn’t. And she was grateful for that.

The rest of the meeting passed quickly, and soon the Commander asked for the beans and she produced them, passing them to him and watching as he studied them intently. He declared that they weren’t of Ixian origin and were likely from Sitia. Much to Yelena’s surprise, he assigned the role of researching them to her. Not one of his scientists. It was a daunting prospect but she simply nodded and was curtly dismissed.

The next few days followed the same routine as Yelena spent her free time, when she wasn’t tasting the Commander’s food, stuck in the library reading through the ancient manuscripts and heavy leather-bound books in the hopes of coming across something about the beans and pods that Valek had given her. Her thoughts occasionally drifted back to Ari and Janco, wondering what had become of them after the exercise. Janco had told her that she had made a fool of them all and they would all likely be reassigned. Had they been reassigned as a result of her evading them? She felt a pang of guilt if they had been, after all, they were the only two that seemed fairly competent; a point Yelena hoped she had made clear to the Commander. Perhaps she would ask Valek when she next saw him.

He still hadn’t returned from his mission to follow the caravan and she was beginning to wonder what had become of him. Just as Valek had said he would, the Commander made sure he gave Yelena her antidote every morning, but she was still anxious that he would forget one day. Dismissing her thoughts of everyone else, she settled down into her seat and returned her attention to the book in front of her. A small part of her mind continued to mull over the two soldiers. Yelena had always held a slight resentment and apprehension towards soldiers after her time in Brazell’s mansion when they did nothing to help her, and the equally harsh soldiers in the Commander’s prison - so Ari and Janco seemed a strange contrast to the others. Perhaps she was naive to try and distance herself from all soldiers.


	3. Chapter 3

Janco was in the yard, slashing at one of the other soldiers with his practice sword as he danced around the training yard when Ari came to find him. The other soldier grunted as Janco dodged his blade with a gleeful grin.

“Gotta be fast, or you’ll finish last.” Janco sang, slashing out and disarming the soldier. He grunted but nodded at Janco and moved onto the next opponent. Wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, Janco turned to where Ari was standing patiently and gave him a questioning look. “What’s the problem?” Ari looked a little nervous which was an expression rarely seen on his large friend’s face and it was making Janco nervous himself.

“Commander wants to see us.”

Janco’s heart skipped a beat and he exhaled sharply. “Did he say why?”

“Apparently it’s to talk about the training exercise.”

They started walking towards the barracks so that Janco could pull on a shirt and give his face a quick wipe before they made their way to the entrance of the castle.

“Bet you Parffet made out that we were the reason it took so long and we’re being reassigned to MD-2. I don’t want to go there. It’s too cold.” Janco panicked and Ari put a large hand on his shoulder.

“Calm down. Don’t get yourself so worked up before we’ve even had the meeting.”

“My ear. It hurts. This is going to end badly. We might as well pack our bags now.”

They came to a stop outside the Commander’s office and one of the guards stood outside slipped inside to introduce them. After a nervous wait, the guard returned and opened the door wide to allow the duo in. The Commander sat at his desk and watched them with his intelligent golden eyes as they walked across the room and stood before the desk, anxiously waiting for the Commander to speak. Janco admired the black stone snowcat on the desk, small flecks of silver reflecting in the light that streamed through the small windows. A few lanterns were lit around the room to provide extra light.

“I’ve been reviewing your performance during the training exercise. Several people gave statements regarding your performance, including Captain Parffet and my poison taster, Yelena.”

Janco tried not to show his surprise. He hadn’t expected the Commander to consider the opinion of his poison taster. It was a logical move, she had after all been the fugitive and the centre of the whole operation - but he was surprised that the Commander had considered her opinion as valid as Captain Parffet. He was impressed.

“Captain Parffet was somewhat critical of the pair of you,” the pair shared a knowing look but quickly looked back at the Commander. “But I understand that the Captain can be a little  _ extreme  _ sometimes when things don’t go to plan. Yelena gave a very interesting account of events.” Janco’s heart rate quickened as he wondered what she had said. Had she mentioned his leaping at her from behind a bush? Perhaps not the best idea he realised now as he looked back at it, but he had been so eager to end the exercise that he didn’t really think about it. “She gave you a good report.”

Trying to suppress his smile, Janco waited for the Commander’s next words. Perhaps they wouldn’t be reassigned and would be allowed to stay here. The Commander shuffled some papers on his desk, picking up two and passing them to Ari and Janco who looked down at them in surprise.

“Congratulations gentlemen, I was impressed by your actions during the training exercise and you have both shown commendable traits and skills. I’ve promoted you both to Captain. You’ll be scouts for my elite guard. Remember to pick up the correct uniforms from the seamstress.”

He dismissed them abruptly and they walked out of the office with a few dazed thank yous. When the doors closed behind them, they both turned to one another with large grins.

“I don’t believe it.” Ari murmured, staring at the piece of paper with disbelief. Neither did Janco.

“I told you we’d be fine.” Janco smirked and puffed out his chest slightly as he re-read the paper. Captain Janco. Who would have thought? Ari snorted and hit his friend in the arm with a laugh.

“I’m sorry, you were the one worrying about the cold and the snow cats that we’d be sharing a room with when we got reassigned.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Janco grinned and they continued down the corridor towards the seamstress’ rooms. They passed Captain Etta along the way and she smiled at them.

“Congratulations gentlemen. I heard about your promotion. It was deserved.”

They thanked her with wide grins, surprised that news had spread that quickly, and continued onto Dilana’s rooms. They had met her a couple of times when collecting new uniforms or getting things repaired and she always had a friendly smile for them.

“Ari! Janco! How lovely to see you both. How can I help you?” She stood up from her sewing table and offered them both a wide grin which Janco returned.

“We’re here for Captain’s uniforms please.” he offered and she let out a small gasp.

“Oh, congratulations! You deserve it. I’ve heard lots of good things about you two.” She proceeded to dart around her storeroom, collecting various shirts and trousers and dress uniforms. She placed them in their arms with a smile. “These should fit, but if they don’t then don’t hesitate to come back and I’ll sort them out for you. Don’t want our two newest Captains looking sloppy on their job!”

They thanked her and after bidding her farewell, they returned to the barracks.

“I’m surprised Yelena gave you a good report after you tackled her to the ground.” Ari chuckled and Janco grimaced slightly.

“Perhaps not my finest idea but I thought she might escape!” he protested and Ari just shook his head with a smirk. As they walked back to the barracks, Janco mulled over the day’s events and wondered what Yelena  _ had  _ said about them. About him.


	4. Chapter 4

Once he had finished laps for the morning and done a few sword exercises with the other soldiers that were lurking around the yard, Janco sought out Ari and they went to watch the procession of Brazell’s soldiers leaving the castle. Good riddance. They had been a right pain in the ass, demanding all sorts of special treatment and had left the barracks feeling very cramped and small. They all also seemed to be thugs and ruffians and had hindered morning practices with foul play and injured a number of the other soldiers.

They stepped out into the training yard to get a good view and a small figure caught Janco’s eye. Stood on the other side of the wooden fence that surrounded the yard was Yelena, a worried cast to her face. He almost didn’t recognise her without dirt and leaves stuck to her. Her bright green eyes, enhanced by the red of the poison taster’s uniform, darted around nervously and she shuddered slightly. Her hand reached for the end of her long dark plait and started playing with the end, a subconscious habit he suspected. Elbowing Ari, he gestured towards her and they headed in her direction. She was so lost in thought that it was only when Ari put a hand on her shoulder that she started and turned to face them with a surprised look.

“Good riddance to that lot.” Ari muttered as he watched them leave through the east-gate. Janco leant down and rested the training sword that he had accidentally brought with him against the lower bars of the fence and wiped at his forehead with the bottom of his shirt, trying to wipe off the sweat and grime that training always seemed to bring.

“Bet you’re as glad as we are to see them go.” he commented, and she nodded. He wasn’t surprised that she would be jumpy around Brazell’s guards. He had heard them talking about her in the barracks, most of them brazenly talking about what they would like to do with her to get revenge for the loss of their boss’ son. It had taken a lot of effort not to start a fight with them, to just ignore it. He was relieved that none of them, it seemed, had decided to act on their desires and plans.

“Yes, I am.”

They watched the parade disappear, simply enjoying one another’s company for the moment and taking comfort in the shared relief as they watched the soldiers leave. Ari cleared his throat and brought the attention back to the group as the last soldier left through the arch.

“We want to thank you, Yelena.”

“What for?” she asked, confusion crossing her face. Janco smiled slightly. She obviously didn’t know.

“The Commander promoted us to Captains. He said you gave us a good report,” he explained and something stirred in his chest as he watched a grin spread across her face. She seemed genuinely happy for them. He couldn’t help but brag. “We’re scouting for the Commander’s elite guard now.”

“We owe you one. Anytime you need help, just let us know.” Ari smiled and Janco nodded. Neither of them expected her to use the promise then and then.

“I need help.” Janco’s heart began to race a little and he glanced pointedly at Ari who glanced back with a nervous frown. What was she going to ask?

“With what?” Ari asked warily.

“I need to learn to defend myself. Can you teach me self-defence and how to use a weapon?” Yelena seemed to hold her breath, as she waited for their answer. Janco turned back to Ari and after a meaningful glance, they switched to signal communication.

_ Well?  _ Janco asked, twitching his eyebrow a little.

_ Good idea? Maybe dangerous.  _ Small hand gestures from Ari.

_ Valek disagree? _

_ Not here now? _

_ What weapon? _

Ari paused and turned to Yelena. “What kind of weapon.” There was a hesitant pause in his voice and Janco cringed. As much as he wanted to help her, this didn’t sit well with him.

She thought for a moment. “A knife.”

The duo turned back to one another and continued their silent conversation.

_ Wait for Valek?  _ Ari signalled.

_ Don’t want trouble. Not safe. _

_ Defend only? _

They were distracted by Yelena starting to talk again. She shifted uncomfortably. “Look. I’ll understand if you refuse. I don’t want to get you into trouble and I know how Janco feels about me.” Wait, what? “I believe his exact words were: ‘She’s a criminal.’ So if the answer is no, that’s fine with me.”

Janco stared at her with shock and he felt slightly sick. How had she heard him say that? That was back in the forest, back before he had met her. Whilst he barely knew her and was still reserved when it came to her background and the fact she had murdered someone, he wouldn’t happily call her a criminal anymore.

“How did you-” He was cut off by Ari punching him in the arm.

“She overheard us in the forest, you dope. How close were you?”

“Fifteen feet.” Woah.

“Damn.” Ari shook his head and then tilted his head, studying her. “We were more worried about Valek. We’ll train you if he doesn’t object. Agreed?”

As Yelena and Ari shook hands, Janco mulled over her choice of weapon. She had obviously chosen something small that she could keep close to her and concealed but the idea of her carrying a knife didn’t seem like a good idea. Suddenly an idea sprung to mind and he waved his hands about excitedly.

“A switchblade!” He felt Ari nod in agreement but watched as confusion fell across Yelena’s face again.

“What?”

“A switchblade would be better than a knife.”

“And where would I keep this … switchblade?”

“Strapped to your thigh. You cut a hole in your pants pocket. Then if you’re attacked, you pull it out, hit the switch, and a nine-inch blade leaps to your disposal.” Janco mimed the process and turned to Ari, pretending to stab his friend in the stomach. Much to his delight, Ari proceeded to groan, clutching his stomach dramatically and collapsed to the floor. He turned back to Yelena who was smiling and he grinned back, offering a hand to Ari without looking, who grabbed it and pulled himself up.  
“When do we start?” Yelena asked eagerly and Janco reached up, scratching at his goatee. He worried about how Valek would react to them training her. Would he be angry? He didn’t particularly want to incur the wrath of Valek, no matter how much he wanted to help Yelena.

“Since Valek isn’t back we could start with some basic self-defence moves, nothing objectionable about that.”

Ari nodded in agreement and smiled as he caught onto his partner’s plan. “Moves she could have learnt by watching the soldier’s train.”

They shared a look and turned back to her with matching grins. “Right now.”


	5. Chapter 5

As they stood in the training yard, Yelena having climbed over the fence to join them, Janco realised just how much shorter she was than them. Ari was a giant compared to her short, lithe figure.

“Okay. First, we will start with some basic self-defence. No weapons until the basic moves are instinctive.” Ari explained, repeating the speech that they had both been given when they started training years ago. He remembered standing in the training yard on a wet early morning, listening to their instructor belting out his speech. Who would have thought he’d end up passing it onto someone else. As Ari continued talking to Yelena about the dangers of using a weapon you don’t know how to use, Janco watched as she listened eagerly. She looked slightly daunted as she stared up at Ari and he wondered why. Was she worried about training with them? Surely not,  _ she  _ had asked after all.

He was curious why she had been so desperate to learn self-defence and how to use a weapon. Did she think she would need these skills? As a poison taster, he doubted she would ever find herself in a dangerous situation so it wasn’t because of her new job. Was she worried about people attacking her? He knew there were many wanting her dead - that much had been clear whilst Brazell’s guards were there. Maybe she was worried about them?

Most of the soldiers were gone by the time Ari finished and all that remained were a small few in little clumps, training together. Ari leaned his sword next to Janco’s and they moved away from the fence. “What are your strengths?” Ari asked, turning back to Yelena.

Her face fell, confused as she tried to understand Ari’s question. “Strengths?”

“What are you good at?” Ari prompted, patient as ever. Janco realised that she was still confused by the question so spoke up.

“Are you a fast runner? That’s a handy skill.”

A look of understanding crossed her face and she nodded. “Oh. I’m flexible. I used to be an acrobat.”

Startled by the unexpected revelation, Janco studied her closer. It made sense of course, she had all of the traits of the acrobats he would watch when the Fire Festival came to the castle, however it still surprised him. He knew nothing about her life before she came to the castle and he wondered what her life had been like before she had murdered Reyad. Had Brazell helped her to learn how to become an acrobat? He pictured her practising outside, flinging herself across the empty space as she performed tumbles and flips. Did she long to do it again?

“Perfect. Coordination and agility are excellent skills. And-” Oh no. Janco watched with a smirk as his partner picked up Yelena around the waist and threw her high into the air. The startled look on her face was comical as she flailed for a brief second before she folded her arms and legs in close, tucking her chin into her chest as she executed a somersault to align herself. She landed on the ground with a small thump, wobbling slightly, but upright. Janco grinned. Impressive. She turned to Ari with a furious expression but he stopped her before she could lay into him.

“Another advantage of having acrobatic training is the ability to stay on your feet. That manoeuvre of yours could mean the difference between life and death.”

Janco’s mind drifted back to the Fire Festival, the visions of acrobats reminding him of the fire dancers that he had seen the other day. He and Ari had gone together and they had stood entranced as they watched the performance. Spinning staffs ablaze with dancing flames filled his mind's eye as he remembered the act - dancers dressed in ambers and oranges swirling about. Janco had been enthralled, turning to Ari as he expressed his belief that he could be a dancer like them. Ari had dismissed him immediately, telling him that he would set his clothes and hair aflame. Probably. But he would look glorious whilst doing so.

He had also studied them from a tactical point of view and had been trying to persuade Ari, and anyone who would listen, that they would be a formidable opponent. Ari asking him something drew him out of his thoughts and he rubbed at the missing part of his ear as he processed what Ari had said, given that he had only been half-listening to his friend.

“It helps,” he answered eventually. “You know who else would make a great fighter?”

Ari’s shoulders sagged and he grinned. His friend knew exactly what he was going to say and had given up trying to stop him. Yelena looked at him with interest and he turned to her, excited to find someone new to explain his ideas to.  
“Who?”

“A dancer. With the proper training, the fire dancers at the festival could take on anyone. With a blazing staff spinning around, I wouldn’t go against one with  _ any  _ weapon.”

“Except a pail of water.” Ari countered and Janco turned to him with raised eyebrows.

“I disagree. They’re dancers which means they’re quick and they think fast. They would see me approaching with the pail of water and quickly dance away.”

“Not if you approached from behind and drenched them over their shoulder.”

“They would be in a large group. Even if you extinguished one, the rest of them would immediately attack and I would still be faced with a dozen flaming staffs.”

“They wouldn’t be any use in the rain. The rain would immediately extinguish their staffs and then you could easily fight against them.”

“How often does it rain when you’re trying to fight? And if you were inside you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Why would you be fighting a bunch of fire dancers inside?” Ari asked incredulously. Janco just shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe they decided when you were sleeping would be the best time to attack? I know that’s when I would attack you.”

“That would be a terrible idea. What if they accidentally caught the furniture ablaze and managed to find themselves trapped in a burning building? If there was only one exit, you could easily get there first and block their exit.”

“It’s a dozen dancers. They could easily block my way and trap me instead.”

Ari was about to reply when Yelena cleared her throat with an amused expression on her face. “As fascinating as this conversation is, I need to be going soon. It’s almost the Commander’s dinner time.”

Janco nodded and they returned their attention to Yelena, showing her a variety of defensive positions to block kicks and punches. They would take it in turns, demonstrating the correct positions with one another before getting her to try to defend herself from Janco or Ari’s punches. They kept them gentle to begin with but as she got better at defending herself, they increased the force behind their punches and kicks. Janco could see that it hurt, not surprising as she was not used to receiving repeated attacks on her arms, but he was impressed that she didn’t say anything and continued with the lesson with the same motivation and energy that she had started it with. Maybe this would be worth their time. He had seen soldiers that had given up quicker than her.

He grinned as he slipped in the occasional sarcastic comment about fire dancers, delighted when Yelena’s lips twitched with the effort of not showing her amusement. Most of the other soldiers and people he surrounded himself with found his humour annoying and tried to avoid him. He wondered how long it would last.

“A fire dancer wouldn’t be able to block a punch or a kick.” Ari commented as Janco took Yelena’s arms, correcting her positioning so that the kick would hit her forearm rather than her wrist. Janco snorted.

“As if they would  _ need  _ to. Who in their right mind would attempt to kick someone holding a flaming staff.”

“I agree, the dancer could just use their staff to set the attackers pants leg alight.” Yelena commented as she blocked one of Ari’s kicks and Janco grinned at the thought of an attacker dancing about with burning pants.

Ari suddenly stopped and Janco immediately looked up to see the cause of Ari’s concern, falling into a similar defensive positioning when he saw Nix sauntering across the yard towards them. The idiot hadn’t used any of the sunblock cream that the soldiers were provided with during the hot season, a lotion invented by the medic to save the soldiers from burnt faces and shoulders during the long hours spent outside, and as a result his head was a bright crimson. Janco’s nose twitched as the overpowering smell of body odour hit them. Didn’t the man know what a bath was? Janco didn’t like the way Nix was glaring at Yelena and stepped between them.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Nix demanded as he stalked up to them.

“That's - what the hell do you think you’re doing,  _ sir _ ?” Janco corrected. He couldn’t help it. He just wanted to see the look of annoyance on Nix’s face as he rubbed it in. Nix had always bragged about how he was a favourite of the Commander and Valek and had always held himself above the rest of them. “We outrank you. And, I think a salute would be a nice touch.”

Nix sneered. “You’ll lose your promotion when your boss finds out you’re associating with a criminal. Whose brainless idea was it to make her into a more efficient killer? When another dead body shows up, you’ll be accomplices.”

Furious, Janco took a step forward. How dare he approach them and criticize them. He didn’t know her. Janco thought back to when he had called Yelena a criminal and cringed. He would never do that now, now that he knew her, and was ready to defend her against anyone who did so. He only stopped when Ari put a hand on his shoulder and spoke up, a menacing tone to his voice. Janco knew Ari felt the same way about Yelena as he did and so didn’t move any closer.

“What we do in our free time is none of your business. Now, why don’t you shuffle off to Parfett? I saw him heading toward the latrines. He’ll need you to wipe his ass soon. It’s the one skill you’re most suited for.”

The tension was thick in the air and Janco waited to see whether Nix would retreat or attack. If he was sensible, he would leave now and not bother them again. But that was unlikely. Nix glared at each of them, a frown of annoyance crossing over his face as Janco shifted to block Yelena from his view.

“She has a history of killing her benefactor. I’d watch your necks if I were you.”

Janco watched him as he turned and stalked across the yard, leaving with a huff.  _ History of killing her benefactor _ . So she had killed one person. Hardly a history. Maybe he deserved it? Now that he knew her more, she didn’t seem the kind of person to act rashly without reason. Everything was carefully planned and thought out. That much was evident from her wanting to learn self-defence.

“That’s a good start.” Ari said, turning back to Yelena with a smile. “See you tomorrow at dawn.”

Yelena looked slightly nervous. “What about Nix?”

Janco clenched his teeth as he thought about the soldier. He had no right causing trouble and interfering with things that had nothing to do with him. Why did he have such hatred for Yelena? It’s not like they had particularly crossed paths before. Janco didn’t mind people mocking and bullying him and Ari, but when they aimed their attacks at innocent people, it made him angry.

“No problem. We can take care of him.” Ari grinned, shooting Janco a meaningful look. They would both be keeping an eye on him and wouldn’t hesitate to step in if he crossed a line.

“I taste the Commander’s breakfast at dawn.” Yelena pointed out and Ari nodded. 

“Then right after.”

Looking confused, Yelena questioned him. “What for?”

Already understanding where Ari was heading, Janco offered an answer. “The soldiers run laps around the compound to keep in shape.” It wasn’t his favourite part of the day, but he didn’t particularly mind the early morning runs as it allowed him to blow the cobwebs out, as his mother would say, and focus on the day ahead of him. There were small competition boards in the barracks as the soldiers playfully competed to finish their laps first. Janco was always near the top of the names.

“Join them. Do at least five circuits. More if you’re able. We’ll increase the amount until you’ve caught up to us.” Ari instructed and Janco nodded.

“How many laps do you run?”

“Fifty.” Ari grinned and Janco smiled as Yelena looked daunted by the prospect. Given how quickly she had picked up techniques they had just taught her and her eagerness to learn, he doubted that it would be long before she was running fifty laps too. 

As they parted ways and the duo returned back to the barracks to clean up, they discussed their new student.

“How long do you think she’ll last?” Ari asked.

“Until the end, I reckon. She doesn’t seem like the kind of person to let anything stop her.” He smirked. “Even if Valek does try and put a stop to it, she’d probably still want to continue, if not just to defy him.”

“What about Nix? Do you think he’ll be a problem?”

“Not whilst we’re there. I do worry though about what he’ll do if he gets her alone. Maybe we should say something?”

Ari sighed. “To who? And with what evidence? That he glared at her? There’s nothing we can do except train her as quickly as possible.”


	6. Chapter 6

Ari and Janco joined the crowd of soldiers heading to the starting mark within the castle complex and began the slow jog as they started their morning laps. They kept pace with one another for a while, running in companionable silence as they usually did until Janco broke the silence.

“Do you think she’ll come?”

“Yes.”

And that was all that was said. That was all that needed to be said. Janco picked up his pace a little and he fell into the focused rhythm that helped him maintain his pace around the laps. However, today his mind kept drifting to Yelena as he wondered whether she would come. Ari seemed so sure, and yet he was worried that she would be daunted by the other soldiers. She seemed to keep to herself as much as possible and he figured that running with dozens of other soldiers didn’t seem her ideal scenario. He hoped that she did come though. She needed the exercise to keep fit and to build up her stamina. There was no point learning to fight, even if it was just self-defence, if you tired within minutes of starting. She was so thin as well, with barely any muscle to speak off. He had been worried during their training yesterday that her arm would just snap like a twig. She was surprisingly strong though, he considered. Everything about her seemed to surprise him.

He felt someone run up beside him and grinned when he saw Ari glancing towards him and gesturing. “Look who’s joining us.”

Janco glanced in the direction of Ari’s vague gesture and smiled when he saw Yelena standing nearby looking warily at the crowds of soldiers doing their morning laps. He waved at her to catch her eye and gestured for her to join in. She gave him a firm nod back and joined the crowds, starting up a slow jog. She kept falling back and after what appeared to be the assigned five laps, she stumbled out of the crowd and bent over the bushes, heaving as she threw up. Oh man. Deciding it was best to just let her deal with it herself and not make a fuss, he gave her a thumbs-up as he jogged past. She had managed the five laps which was what they had asked her to do. Not bad at all. He remembered how much he had struggled when he had first started out, feeling winded almost immediately with painful stitches. He hadn’t been able to find the right rhythm and mindset and it had impacted his running. His feet had hurt, his back had hurt and he was throwing up in the bushes on a regular occurrence. However, once he had found the right way to run, it was easy and he found himself improving quickly until he was running the required numbers of laps for the soldiers. He occasionally ran a few more but it was generally agreed that fifty was the ideal number - just enough to push the soldiers and keep them at top performance but not enough to knacker them for the entire day and hinder their training.

He watched as Ari jogged over to her briefly and informed her of their later training session and he smirked as her face fell. Oh he knew that feeling too well. She would be complaining later.

\---

Valek had clearly returned, Janco mused as they walked towards the training yard. Everyone was talking about the matches. Everyone, as expected, had inevitably failed. No matter what weapon they chose, they never seemed to be able to best Valek. That wasn’t surprising though - he was the Commander’s chief of security for a reason. He had to be the best.

They grabbed swords from the nearby weapons rack that was set outside to allow people to choose a weapon of their choice and completed a few sparring matches to warm up. The steady clash of the metal drew Janco into a comfortable rhythm and he grinned as he darted about, avoiding and countering Ari’s thrusts and slashes.

“You’re aiming high, you’re aiming low, you’re trying hard but you’re too slow!” he jeered as he feinted a dodge and managed to disarm his friend who grunted with annoyance.

They joined the group of soldiers waiting to compete and eventually it was Janco’s turn. He stepped out into the yard and stood face-to-face with Valek who nodded once and immediately lunged. Janco countered it, stepping to the side as Valek slashed side-ways. This continued for a little while, Janco dodging Valek’s blade and countering it as they fought. However, he misjudged his opponent, falling for a feint himself and moved to counter it, sighing as Valek lunged forwards and stopped with the tip of the blade pressing gently into Janco’s chest.

The swords were lowered and Janco thanked Valek, who responded with a few notes on how to improve. Janco didn’t mind though - he had lasted longer than he had during his previous duels with Valek, which meant he was improving. Maybe one day. He moved to lean against the fence, wiping the sweat off his face as he watched his giant of a partner step forwards and prepare to duel Valek himself. The match lasted surprisingly longer and Janco found himself watching with bated breath as the swords clashed together in a harmonious pattern. Valek’s eyes narrowed as he had to increase his focus, challenged for once by his opponent. He didn’t seem to mind however, instead he seemed delighted by the challenge. His blue eyes glinted with determination and Janco watched with admiration as he made his moves carefully, with sharp precision and moved back and forth with graceful elegance. Valek’s sword clashed with Ari’s and for a moment it looked like Ari was going to win as he forced Valek’s sword down in an attempt to disarm him. However, almost too fast to see, Valek darted out and swung his sword below Ari’s, resting the tip on Ari’s stomach. The match was over.

He grinned as he lowered his sword and gave him a number of encouraging remarks. He seemed pleased with Ari’s performance and Janco was pleased for his friend. As Ari walked over to join him, Janco let out a few whoops and clapped his hands, ignoring as some of the nearby soldiers glared at him. Ari just rolled his eyes and they spent the next hour watching the following fights. Janco had almost forgotten their training session with Yelena until she appeared suddenly and asked them what was going on, staring at the match in front of them.

“Valek’s challenge.” Janco grinned, but when she didn’t look any more enlightened, he continued. “Valek has declared a challenge to anyone in Ixia. Beat him in a fight with the weapon of your choice, or hand to hand, and you can be promoted to his second-in-command.”

Ari continued to explain the importance of the duels and Janco watched Yelena as she, in turn, watched the match. She seemed enthralled by the duelling dance as Valek and the soldier seemed to take it in turns to attack one another. He wondered whether, if she somehow managed to beat Valek in a duel, Valek would promote her to his second-in-command. He had said  _ anyone  _ in Ixia. Did that apply to prisoners and the poison taster too? He doubted she would ever want to duel Valek but it was an interesting question.

“How did you guys do?” she asked, glancing at both of them and Ari muttered something about doing okay. Janco snorted and she turned to him with a questioning look.

“Okay! Ari came close to beating him. Valek was pleased. But Ari would rather be a scout than a spy.”

“I want all or nothing.” Ari said quietly and Janco nodded. They had had the conversation numerous times, both imagining what it would be like to actually beat Valek in a duel. It had seemed impossible several years ago when they had both been beaten within minutes of starting the match. However, as they had improved, the matches got longer and Janco found himself wondering whether it was possible. Their performances had certainly impressed Valek enough to assign them to the training exercise where they had first met Yelena.

They continued to watch the matches together, each of the duo providing their own critique to Yelena. It was interesting, seeing where others failed, and it only helped to improve their own performance. That was why so many soldiers stayed even after failing to beat Valek. They wanted to improve their own performance and were dedicated enough to try and do so. He knew that the Captains watching noted who stayed and who left. It was unlikely that those who left would be promoted any time soon.

As someone approached Valek with a knife, Ari shook his head. “Bad choice.”

They watched as Valek unarmed the soldier in two moves and Janco turned to Yelena who was looking both impressed and worried.

“Valek excels in knife fighting.”

The last soldier to duel Valek was Maren and the duo watched in interest as she picked up a bo staff. They had been watching her fight for the last couple of years and she had bested them both many times in duels. However, they kept coming back to her because she was one of the best and where better to push yourself than duelling with the best?

The match lasted longer than the others and only finished when Maren’s bo staff snapped in two. She looked put out but Valek started talking to her, giving her tactical advice, and her eyes lit up. Janco and Ari suspected Maren was soft on their boss - although he didn’t seem to reciprocate it. As the crowd dispersed, Janco glanced down at Yelena who was still watching Valek with a curious expression. Something panged in his stomach. Jealousy? Surely not.

Brushing it off, he listened to Ari as he pointed Maren out to Yelena, suggesting that she asked Maren to teach her how to use the bo staff. It made sense as with Yelena being shorter than most, it would provide her with the extra reach needed to take down a taller attacker. 

Yelena countered the suggestion. “But you can’t conceal a bo staff.”

Ari shook his head and Janco pondered on the thought. Could you reasonably carry a bo staff around inside without it being noticed particularly? Any soldier that saw it would immediately recognise it for what it was, but maybe someone who wasn’t familiar with it would assume it was a walking stick. Either that or a broom handle without the broom.

As if reading his mind, Ari explained how it could be concealed as a walking stick in the woods. Yelena glanced back at Yelena and tilted her head slightly, seemingly considering Ari’s suggestion.

“Maren is aggressive and encouraging. Every new female recruit gets her personal attention whether they want it or not. Since so many women fail due to the rigours of training, she tries to coach them through. We’ve more women in the guard now than ever because of her. We tried to get her to teach us - a bo staff would make a good weapon for a scout - but she has no interest in training men.”

Janco snorted as he remembered trying to persuade Maren to teach them. He had ended up face-first in the mud after she tripped him up with her bo staff, before walking off and leaving him in the dirt. He took that to be a clear no. He admired her, however, and that admiration hadn’t diminished after the incident, as she knew what she wanted and would stop at nothing to get it. She seemed to share those qualities with Yelena and he wondered whether she would agree to train her.

“But I’m not a new recruit, I’m the food taster. Why would she waste her time with me? I might be dead tomorrow.”

“Aren’t we grumpy today. Too much exercise this morning?” he grinned and she told him to shut up, causing his grin to widen. However, something had hit home when she had mentioned dying. He knew that she was the poison taster, but he had never really considered what that meant. It was true - for all she knew, she  _ could  _ be dead tomorrow and there was nothing they could do about it. It didn’t sit right with him. He barely knew her and yet he knew with certainty that he would be distraught if she died. It had been so much easier when she was just ‘the poison taster’ - this unknown member of the Commander’s castle that could have lived and died without ever impacting on his life.

They spent the rest of the afternoon teaching Yelena how to punch someone without breaking her hand and practising how to kick properly. Janco had dragged out a training bag and he stood next to her, patiently explaining how to fist her hand when punching. He adjusted her hand a couple of times and gently took her arm, demonstrating when the force should be applied to the punch. He smiled and praised her when she got it right, giving her a pat on the shoulder as he moved the bag out of the way. She seemed to struggle with the kick a little but put all of her efforts into it and managed to achieve a couple of good kicks before the end of the session.

He could sense Valek watching them, having finished talking to Maren and some of the Captains, and Janco tried to ignore his boss’ sharp gaze. Was he there to put an end to their training sessions? When Ari finished up the lesson and dismissed Yelena, Janco couldn’t help but call after her with a grin.

“See you in the morning!”

He disappeared around the corner, his grin widening as he heard her huff loudly. He wouldn’t ever admit it to anyone, but he was beginning to look forward to their sessions together. It was a change to his usual routine and it was fun having someone new around. He paused around the corner, watching unseen as Valek strode over to where Yelena stood and took her hand to examine the bruises. He made a comment about her punches being too slow and Janco wrinkled his nose. Why didn’t Valek teach her if he was just going to criticize their teaching? When Valek then went on to compliment her technique Janco relaxed slightly and nodded in agreement as Valek suggested holding weights in her hands to improve the speed of her punches.

“I can continue?” Yelena asked, disbelief evident by her tone. Janco was surprised as well. He had been almost certain that Valek would put a stop to their training sessions and had been preparing himself to only see her in passing around the castle.

He felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he watched them stand close to one another, her hand still in Valek’s, and he turned with a quiet sigh and made his way back to the barracks where Ari would be waiting for him. Had he stayed, he would have seen her gently pull her hand away from Valek and take a small step back, maintaining the distance you would expect between the Chief-of-security and the Commander’s food taster. 


	7. Chapter 7

Yelena huffed as she made her way around the complex, trying to keep in pace with the other soldiers that surrounded her. It was getting easier, slowly, and she had started the morning on an empty stomach this time so that hopefully she wouldn’t end it throwing up in the bushes again.

She saw the familiar face of Janco as he and Ari jogged past, seemingly unfazed by the heat or the exercise. She rolled her eyes as Janco gave her a wave, grinning at her. He always seemed to take pleasure in her suffering. He disappeared into the crowd again and Yelena continued her laps. Shortly after she heard heavy footsteps behind her and, assuming it was Janco playing tricks on her again, shifted out of the way to let him pass. However he didn’t pass and she turned to see what he was playing at, eyes widening when she saw Nix thrust his hands out and make sharp contact with her back. She stumbled and crashed onto the ground face-first, curling up in pain as his foot slammed into her solar plexus.

Soldiers continued their laps around her, no-one stopping to help her, and she gasped for breath. When she managed to catch her breath back, she pushed herself up into a sitting position and shifted out of the way of the oncoming runners. That bastard. She wondered whether anyone had seen what he did - even if they had, she suspected that they wouldn’t do anything about it. Waiting for him to come back around on his following lap, she fumed over his actions.

If he had been trying to discourage her, he had only succeeded in doing the opposite. She was more determined now than ever to learn self-defence and be able to defend herself against attacks like this. She saw Ari jog towards her, leaving the crowd of soldiers, and he came to an abrupt stop with a look of concern on his face.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.” Yelena answered, trying to brush him off. She needed to deal with Nix herself, and not rely on others to do it for her. Otherwise he would never leave her alone. 

“Your face is covered with blood.” Ari questioned and Yelena reached up, wiping at her face with her sleeve in an attempt to wipe it away. She glanced upwards and saw Janco lurking at the edge of the crowd, paused as he looked over with concern. Not wanting to make a big deal out of it, she shook her head.

“I fell.” She brushed him off, trying to distract him with Valek’s advice about concealing their training sessions. Seemingly having moved on, Ari nodded and offered to scout some suitable locations. They agreed to meet later in the week once he had found a suitable location, and she watched as he returned to where Janco was standing and with a final glance back in her direction, they continued their laps.

\---

Janco looked across at his partner as they picked up the pace again to finish their laps. “What happened?”

“She says she fell.” Ari grunted, continuing to look forwards.

Janco frowned and shook his head slowly. “She’s an acrobat. We’ve seen what happens when you try and knock her off her feet - she’s like a cat. She just lands on her feet again. Or at least, not her face. It’s not like there’s a lot to trip on here either.”

Ari didn’t reply and they ran in silence for a while. “She wants to deal with it herself, and we should let her.” he muttered abruptly and Janco frowned.

“But if we can help her -”

“She would have asked for help if she wanted it, but she clearly doesn’t so we’ve got to respect that.”

They ran in silence as Janco mulled it over. Ari had a point. She could have easily told Ari what the problem was and he would have sorted it out for her. But she didn’t and she obviously had a reason for doing so. To try and sort it out for her would more than likely make her resent them for getting involved and he didn’t want that. All they could do is help her to learn self-defence to the point where she could solve her own problems. It still bothered him though.

\---

“You’re Maren, right?” Yelena asked, puffing as she tried to keep pace with the woman. She had been running laps for a week, and whilst her stamina and speed had improved, she was trying to keep up with someone who had been running laps for years. She ran with long, confident strides and she certainly wasn’t slowing down for Yelena.

She shot her a quick appraising glance and her nose crinkled. “And you’re the Puker.” Yelena ignored the insult, instead treating it as an opportunity for conversation. Maren could have just dismissed her.

“I’ve been called worse.”

“Why do you do it?”

“What?”

“Run till you’re sick.” Yelena still ended each of her sessions either throwing up in the bushes or heaving, however she continued, doing what Ari and Janco had told her to.

“Five circuits were assigned. I don’t like to fail.” 

Maren gave her another critical glance and nodded once. With her words coming out as huffs, Yelena suspected that she wouldn’t be able to continue the conversation much longer if they continued at this pace and so she quickly tried to progress it.

“I watched you fight Valek. I’ve heard you’re the best with a bo staff. I want to learn to use one.”

“Who told you that?” She slowed her pace as she pondered on Yelena’s words and Yelena gasped with relief, taking respite in the slower pace.

“Ari and Janco.”

Maren snorted. “Friends of yours?”

“Yes.”

Yelena smiled slightly as Maren looked thoughtful, clearly putting snippets of information together. “They found you in the forest. It’s rumoured they were training you to fight but you quit. Are they foisting you off to me?”

Shaking her head, Yelena puffed as she continued trying to match Maren’s pace. “The problem with rumours is the difficulty in sorting the truth from the lies.”

Maren frowned. “And the reason I’m willing to donate my time?”

“Information.”

“About what?”

“You want to beat Valek, right?”

Yelena tried not to shrink back as Maren’s grey eyes narrowed, glaring at her with powerful intensity. She wheezed as she tried to keep up and gestured towards the castle walls with a throw of her hand.

“Come to the east entrance of the castle this afternoon at two and I’ll tell you.”

\---

Janco and Ari waited patiently in the deserted hallway as they stared in the direction that Yelena and Maren would be coming. Janco was impressed that she had finally built up the courage to talk to her and he hoped that Maren would at least give her a chance. She deserved as much. Footsteps drew their attention and he smiled as he saw Yelena leading Maren along the corridor, the older woman clutching two bo staffs in her hand with a frown on her face. They came to a stop before the duo and Maren looked at them both with a raised eyebrow.

“I guess gossip is not to be trusted.” she commented, looking at Ari and he nodded.

“No. But there are certain rumours we would like to keep as is.” Janco nodded, not missing the thinly veiled threat in his friend’s words. Maren didn’t miss it either. However she seemed to ignore him and turned to Yelena.

“Okay Puker, what’s your information? And it better be good or I’m walking.”

Janco smirked as his friend reddened, trying to bite back a remark. Ari was always quick to anger and defend those that needed it, but he suspected Yelena could handle it herself. He grinned as he looked forward to seeing Yelena and Maren clash. They were both strong personalities and Maren needed to understand this if she was going to fit in with the group.

“Well, as I see it, the four of us can help each other out. Ari, Janco and I want to learn how to fight with the bo staff. You want to beat Valek. Working together, we may be able to achieve our goals.”

“How’s my teaching you going to help in a match against Valek?”

“You’re skilled with the bo staff, but your fighting tactics need work. Ari and Janco can help you with that.” Yelena pointed out and Maren laughed incredulously. Janco just smirked as she turned to them.

“One week of training and the Puker thinks she’s an expert.” Ari’s face darkened but he kept quiet and so did Janco. They were letting Yelena handle this. She narrowed her eyes slightly and she tried to regain Maren’s focus.

She shrugged. “I’m not an expert, but Valek is.”

Maren span to face Yelena and gave her a cold stare. “He said that? About me?”

Of course Maren would be interested in what Valek thought. She would do anything to win his favour, to impress him, and as a result she threw herself into training to try and better herself. Yelena nodded and Maren gazed at her thoughtfully. Who would have thought that the poison taster would hold the information on how to beat Valek - Janco certainly wouldn’t have expected it until recently. It was clear that Valek and Yelena had a different relationship to that which he had with all of his previous tasters. But to what extent?

“So I teach bo staff, and Ari and Jan teach tactics. What’s your contribution?” Janco scowled as she used a nickname that she had given him a little while back, one which he had quickly tried to kill. She knew it annoyed him and by the grin she had shot him whilst using it, he knew she had got a rise out of it. Yelena gestured to the small group.

“This. And ...” she paused and Janco wondered what card she had hidden up her sleeve. Maren still looked unsure about the whole thing and he knew she needed something worthwhile to make her want to stay. “I could teach you some flips, and help you gain greater flexibility and balance that might benefit you in a fight.”

Janco grinned, impressed by her offer. It was exactly what Maren needed to make her stay. There was no way she would down the opportunity to further her abilities. Especially when it came to defeating Valek. Every little chance she could get, she would take it. “Damn. She’s got you there. And four does make a better training group than three.”

Janco smiled sweetly at her as she turned to scowl at him. He glanced at Yelena who was watching Maren hopefully. Even if this didn’t work out, he was impressed. He didn’t know any of the other servants around the castle who had managed to persuade a soldier to teach them, let alone three including Maren who was considered one of the best. They could have just laughed in her face but Yelena kept pushing and making deals to get what she wanted. She didn’t let anything stop her and he admired her for that.

“All right, I’ll try it on a temporary basis. If it doesn’t work, I’m walking.” 

Before Janco could interject about keeping this all a secret, she rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Don’t worry. I may listen to the rumour mill, but I don’t participate in it.”

Everyone shook hands with her and Janco shared a smile with Yelena as they took Maren to their training room. It was an empty storage room on the lower level of the southwest corner of the castle, which had long been abandoned. Maren spent the rest of the afternoon teaching them the principles of bo staff fighting - how to hold it and how to make basic blocking and attack moves. Yelena seemed to pick it up the quickest and Janco found himself relying on her to help him when Maren was distracted helping Ari. She didn’t seem to mind though and happily demonstrated moves repeatedly until he got them correct. She seemed to take pleasure in the fact that there was something he couldn’t do.

“Not bad, Puker.” Maren admitted once they had finished. “I see some potential.” That name again. Did she not realise that it was getting old? He was about to say something, watching as she picked up her bo staff and was about to leave, when Ari stepped forwards, beating him to it, and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Her name’s Yelena. If you don’t want to call her by her name, then don’t come back tomorrow.”

Janco watched as surprise crossed Yelena and Maren’s faces, lingering on Yelena’s face even as Maren nodded and brushed Ari’s paw off her shoulder and walked away. Was she really so surprised that they were more than happy to stand up for her? So much for not interfering though, Janco mused with a smirk, but part of him wondered whether she would come back the following day. 

\---

It turned out that Janco didn’t need to worry about whether Maren would come back, as when they walked into the training room the following day, she was already there with a set of practice bo staffs and a determined attitude.  
They spent the next few months working together, meeting every day to practice a variety of different fighting methods. Maren, true to her word, continued giving them lessons with the bo staffs and soon Yelena was a competent fighter, picking up the techniques quickly and using them to her advantage to take on Janco and Ari as her opponents. She, in turn, had taught them how to incorporate flips and similar tricks into their fighting styles and it had only made Ari more infuriated with Janco’s speed as he flipped himself over the giant’s head and landed on the other side with a large grin.

He looked forward to the sessions every day, waking up with a grin on his face as he heaved himself out of his bed and started his early morning laps. The training sessions consumed his every spare thought and he found himself planning new techniques and lessons as he ran around the complex. He didn’t see Yelena anymore during their morning laps but when he had asked her, she had explained that she had taken to running outside of the complex instead of the main route within the complex walls that they had previously been taking. Ari had suggested it apparently, to make it seem as if Yelena had quit training. He nodded and considered momentarily whether or not he should join her.

He couldn’t quite believe how much of an impact the young poison taster had made on his life. And for the better. He found himself grinning every time he saw her, watching the training room door until she arrived, and preparing jokes and insults for when the opportunity arose. He often watched her when she wasn’t looking, just taking enjoyment in watching her dart around her opponent and use all the techniques they had taught her, her eyes narrowed with concentration. By the end of the sessions, her hair had often slipped from her plait and he had to restrain himself from tucking it back for her, as it fell over eyes mid-fight.

Much to his chagrin, Valek would sometimes attend their training sessions, leaning against the wall as they fought one another, occasionally offering tips and demonstrations. Janco noticed as his boss’ eyes lingered on Yelena as she fought, a slight smile on his face as she tricked her opponent into blocking above before attacking from below. His face always seemed to soften when he watched her, barely noticeable, but it did. On occasion, Janco would make eye contact with Valek after he had caught him watching Yelena and his boss would break eye contact quickly and divert his attention to Ari or Maren as if he had simply been assessing Yelena’s fighting technique. But Janco knew the truth, and for some reason, it annoyed him.

\---

Valek was watching the session again, and Yelena tried to focus harder as she duelled Janco. They were fighting without weapons today, and with the added pressure from Valek watching to perform well, Yelena was determined to beat him. However, despite her attempts to pre-empt his moves and distinguish which were real attacks and which were simply a feint to divert her attention away from the real attack, he still managed to get past her defences as he achieved another well-placed blow to her ribs. He grinned and darted around her, almost causing her to spin in circles as she tried to keep an eye on him at all times. He was too damn fast.

“You look up here, you look down there, you spin in circles and look everywhere.” Janco taunted and Yelena clenched her jaw, ducking and managing to catch him in the chest, avoiding a high swing of his arm. He tried to trip her up as they fought, aiming at her legs with his foot, but she successfully managed to anticipate it and use it to her advantage, attacking his other foot and knocking him down instead. She grinned as he lay on the dusty floor, scowling at her.

Ari, who was watching from the side chuckled as he swapped places with Yelena and helped his partner up off the floor. Janco stuck his tongue out at Yelena and waved his finger at her. “Next time, Yelena. Next time.”

She just laughed and wiped at her forehead, bending down and pouring herself a cup of water from a jug in the corner of the room, sipping it slowly as she watched Ari and Janco begin their fight. She couldn’t believe that it had been months since they had started their lessons, but she couldn’t imagine doing anything else now. She looked forward to their lessons together and found herself thinking about them as she tasted the Commander’s food and researched the beans in the library. 

As she watched Janco dodge one of Ari’s punches and dart around him, bending backwards to avoid yet another blow, she smiled. When he had first tried that move he had fallen over backwards, much to her amusement, and he had lain on the floor scowling up at her. However, as time went on and he practised her moves more, he became more flexible and was now able to bend easily without toppling. That, combined with his speed, made him a formidable opponent and she watched with interest as he darted about his partner, successfully making sharp jabs and annoying Ari. She caught his eye briefly and he grinned at her, making something twitch in her chest as she looked away. Why should she be embarrassed? She was just watching to improve on her own technique, wasn’t she? They had certainly grown closer over the last few months and she always found herself disappointed when he had to miss training sessions due to other commitments. Ari had missed sessions before, but she was never as disappointed. A smile settled on her face as she focused her attention back on him, watching as he eventually beat Ari and turned with a flourish to bo staff to everyone as if he were a performer finishing their show. She clapped, even if it did increase his ego, and he smiled at her as he straightened, his eyes holding a strange intensity. She should have looked away, but she didn’t.


	8. Chapter 8

Yelena groaned as she opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling. Her fists hurt where she had bloodied them the previous night, repeatedly hitting the wall as she had attempted to defend herself from Reyad. They were going to be painful during the training session. She had been late for the Commander’s breakfast and had hurried to taste his food, arriving there in almost record time and tasting it for him quickly. If he had noticed her red eyes and bloodied fists, he didn’t say anything. Once she had finished, she had immediately returned to her room and collapsed onto the bed, slipping into a light slumber.

It was thanks to Valek forcing her to remember Reyad and the night of his murder that she hadn’t slept the previous night - instead wearing herself out crying and beating at the wall, trying to rid herself of Reyad’s ghost. Like that had helped. He had just stood there, smirking at her as she frantically tried to touch him, grab him, hit him. Anything.

She didn’t want to go to training. She just wanted to hide in her room. However, she knew that if she didn’t go, Ari and Janco would come looking for her and it would make the whole situation worse. She just needed to go and pretend that everything was fine. Sighing to herself, she pushed herself off the bed and started to make her way down the corridors of the castle, weaving amongst servants and hurrying down steps until she reached the training room. They weren’t due there for another few hours and so she had the room to herself. The bo staff lay patiently in the corner and she picked it up, practising a few of the katanas that Maren had been teaching her. As she followed the familiar arm movements, twisting and twirling the bo staff, jabbing it into imaginary opponents, her mind began to wander again.

It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had been in Brazell’s mansion, knelt over Reyad as she watched the blood pump from the slash across his neck, and yet the pain and horror from it felt as fresh as ever. It didn’t help that he was now haunting her, and making her life a misery from the other side. His smirk seemed to follow her wherever she went, teasing her, bullying her. Even dead, he was still tormenting her.

At least being dead meant that he couldn’t hurt anyone else. She didn’t notice anyone else having seen him as he followed her around the castle and she took comfort in that. Maybe she deserved his eternal tormenting for having murdered him, but no-one else did. If only she had worked up the courage to end his life sooner, instead of letting him control her as he had. She had been weak. The naive girl she started out as was long gone - the girl who had simply desired to help Brazell, the man who had raised her. Instead, she was now a trembling mess who could die at any moment should anyone decide to make an attempt on the Commander’s life. Or if Valek simply got bored. Either was perfectly plausible.

She wondered whether Ari, Janco and Maren would particularly miss her if she just stopped turning up to the training sessions. Would they come looking for her? Would they worry about where she was? Or would they assume that she had simply quit and didn’t want their help any longer? Would they return to their lives without a second thought her way?

Yelena shook her head. She was being ridiculous. Of course they would care. Ari and Janco were the only constants in her life that she could trust. She couldn’t even trust Valek. Ari and Janco were always there for her when she needed them and they were always looking out for her. She knew that they would have helped her to solve the Nix problem, but it was something she needed to solve herself and she was grateful that they had understood and accepted that.

She almost missed the Commander’s dinner thanks to her daydreaming and she hurried to taste it for him, arriving just in time and silently tasting the food for him. Clean, as always. As she walked back to the training room, she wondered what life would have been like had she grown up here, in the castle. What would she have become? How would she be living her life at the moment? She had never really thought about her future whilst she had been at Brazell’s. Before she had become their experiment, the future had seemed so far away, and whilst she had been their lab rat, she had believed that she had no future.

She enjoyed her time in the library, researching the pods and seeds, despite the fact she wasn’t getting anywhere. Perhaps she would have pursued an intellectual route and gone into research. Researching plants maybe as a botanist. She was distracted from her thoughts as she arrived at the training room and found Janco and Ari waiting, sparring with one another to pass the time. Slipping into the back of the room, she returned their greetings as they lunged at one-another, ducking and dodging blows as they fought. Maren arrived soon after and they broke apart, both claiming that they had won the duel. Reaching into a bag that had been thrown to one side of the room, Ari produced a set of wooden knives and started to teach Yelena how to use them. Janco and Maren moved to the other side of the room, practising bo staff fighting as they were already proficient with knife fighting and Janco had been nagging Maren to demonstrate some new moves.

“You hold it like this,” Ari demonstrated, adjusting her fingers around the handle. “And then you can slice forwards or backwards, bending your wrist like so. You can slash out wide to give yourself more space but also consider that it makes your arm and weapon more vulnerable. Someone could easily attack and knock the knife out of your hand and grab it for themselves.”

She nodded, only half listening and copied the moves as he showed them to her. With the lack of sleep from the previous night and the combined lack of energy from dealing with Reyad’s ghost, on top of the trouble Valek had been causing her with his abrupt mood swings - she was exhausted.

Ari didn’t seem to notice, and if he did he didn’t say anything and continued showing her the correct way to block a knife attack. “Use your arm. Having a slash on your arm is not going to hinder you as much as having a slash across your stomach. Far less painful, and fewer guts involved.”

\---

Janco grunted as Maren slammed her bo staff into his and he twisted it, pushing hers away. He jumped over a low swing of hers and twisted mid-air, jabbing at her. She blocked it just before it could hit her but stumbled backwards and he took the opportunity to swing again and hit her in the side. She scowled at him and he just grinned back. As he circled her, he glanced towards Ari and Yelena who were sparring with wooden knives on the other side of the room. Ari was frowning as he jabbed at Yelena, who half-heartedly moved to block it, missing and wincing as Ari jabbed her in the stomach. Ari shook his head with disappointment and concern.

“Pay attention. You’re dead. That’s the fourth time today. What’s the matter?”

Janco turned back in time to block a swing from Maren but he heard Yelena mutter something about being tired. She certainly looked it, with dark circles under her eyes. Normally she turned up to these sessions bright and cheery and so he wondered what had kept her up all night. He would have perhaps wondered who, had she not looked so miserable. No-one had missed her bruised and scabbed knuckles, each of them shooting them glances when Yelena had moved close enough for them to spot them. He jabbed at Maren and dodged out of the way of her counter attack, listening as Ari sighed and ended the session, both of them moving to the bench that Janco had moved into the storage room a few days earlier. He had found it in another of the abandoned rooms and had dragged it all the way to their training room, grimacing at the noise it made against the stone floors the whole way. He dodged another blow and slipped past Maren, jabbing her in the side and she grunted, spinning around to try and attack him.

“She’s tall and thin, but she’s not going to win.” he sang, repeatedly attacking her and forcing her backwards. He could feel Ari and Yelena’s eyes on them as they watched the duel and he pushed harder, determined to win. 

Annoyed that Maren didn’t seem to take the bait, he gaped as she planted her bo staff on the floor and flipped over his head, landing behind him and grabbing him around the neck, forcing him backwards. He gasped for air but she refused to let go until he conceded. Reluctantly, he did and she let go. Damn. He glanced back at Yelena and cheered up a little when he saw that she looked a little happier having watched Maren use one of her moves. It was an excellent way of getting out of a tight situation but he couldn’t help but scowl at Maren for daring to use it against him. Determined not to let her win, he demanded another match and she accepted by slashing at him with her bo staff which he blocked again. They danced about the training room, jabbing and blocking, and as he got closer to Yelena and Ari, he heard his friend ask her what was wrong. He slipped behind Maren, much to her annoyance, and got a good view of Yelena’s face. It was full of pain and conflict, and his heart broke just looking at it.

“Do you think this is a waste of time?” she asked quietly and he frowned, his face matching his friend’s as they processed her question incredulously. A waste of time? Where had she got that idea from? She had improved so much over the last few months and both Ari and Janco had been impressed by her determination and ability to pick things up quickly. Neither of them had even considered the thought that it was a waste of time. It was anything but. He was drawn back to the fight by Maren slamming her bo staff into his back and leaning in close.

“Pay attention.” she snapped in his ear and he scowled at her, spinning the bo staff and blocking her attacks before dropping down and slamming it into her legs. She tried to jump over the staff but he feinted, aiming higher instead and catching her directly on the knees. She grunted and stumbled back a little, aiming for his chest. A glance at his friend showed that Ari was angrily explaining to Yelena why this was far from being a waste of time and he nodded to himself, satisfied that Ari was taking care of things. He slammed his bo staff downwards, the force of the two weapons colliding reverberating up his arms. Maren grabbed the other end of hers and shoved them upwards, forcing Janco to raise his arms. She then dropped and slammed it into his stomach. He grunted and retreated, blocking her following attacks. She glared at him. “I told you to pay attention. Stop staring at her.”

He shoved her away and slammed his bo staff into hers again. “You might beat Valek with these blows.” Janco blocked her attack and swiped at her feet again. She pre-empted him this time and jumped over him with ease. “He’ll laugh himself silly at how pathetically weak they are, giving you the perfect opening.“ 

Maren remained silent, refusing to take his bait, but put more force into her attacks and Janco had to move back to avoid her harsh jabs and swings of the bo staff. As they moved closer to Yelena and Ari, he heard her lower her voice as she asked him a question.

“Ari, can you teach me how to pick locks?”

Pick locks? Why did she want to learn how to pick locks? A touch of wariness made Janco pause, almost making him miss blocking Maren’s attack, but he quickly brushed it away and slammed his bo staff into hers. Janco tried to stop himself from turning as he heard Ari mention his name. Yelena echoed his name and he felt a sharp jab in the ribs as Maren took advantage of his distracted mind.

“He seems harmless and happy-go-lucky, but as a boy, he got into all kinds of mischief until he was trapped in a tight spot. Then he was given the choice of either joining the military or going to jail. Now he’s a Captain. His biggest advantage is that no one thinks he’s serious, and that’s exactly what he wants.”

Janco grimaced and swiped back at Maren’s bo staff with a stronger force than before. She stumbled backwards, surprise glancing over her face but she shook it off and narrowed her eyes with determination. Ari knew him too well. Of course he did, they had been friends for years, but it still made him uneasy to know that someone saw through him so clearly. It was ironic in a way how his life had echoed Yelena’s - both had been offered jail or another life, and both had taken the new life. He had been a criminal, through and through, and he still felt sick when he remembered calling Yelena as much. Who was he to judge?

“I’ll try and remember that the next time he’s cracking jokes and my ribs.” Yelena murmured and Janco smiled, turning his attention back to Maren too late to react to her attack. She brought down her own bo staff and slammed his out of his hand, both of them watching as it clattered across the floor. Before he could lunge for it, she grabbed him around the neck again.

“I told you to pay attention.” she hissed and he struggled to get free. “You can’t beat me if you’re distracted like this. Just ignore her.”

He tapped on her arms as a sign of concession and she let him free with a grin on her face. He scowled at her again and grabbed the bo staff off the floor. “Best three out of five, my lady cannot deny.” he called out, desperate to beat her at least once.

Maren just shrugged. “If your ego can handle it.” She swiped at his feet with a malicious grin and he jumped over the bo staff with ease, lunging forwards to attack her. He was determined to win this time. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ari stand up and pass a wooden knife to Yelena, who after a pause took it and lunged at him. Janco smiled. Ari always knew how to fix things.

An hour later they were sitting on the bench, all breathing heavily as they took turns sipping from the jug of water and making verbal jabs at one another. The door swung open and Janco smirked as Maren shot to her feet as their boss walked in. However, his smirk faded as he watched Valek’s eyes land immediately on Yelena and he asked to speak to her alone. Telling them to go away. 

Ari and Maren got up first, gathering their things and heading to the door. Janco didn’t miss the glares Maren was giving Yelena. Janco reluctantly got to his feet when Ari paused by the door and let out a meaningful cough, and he glanced back at Yelena whilst he grabbed his things off the floor. She was watching him and gave him a disappointed smile. Had Valek not interrupted them, they would have spent at least the next hour chatting to one another and joking about. He gave her a small shrug, throwing her a quick grin and then followed the others out of the room, his grin disappearing and shoulders sagging as the door closed behind him.


	9. Chapter 9

They had spent the day practising Yelena’s acrobatic techniques, having dragged stacks of old pillows and some damaged mattresses from a nearby storeroom into their training room to cushion them as they inevitably fell onto the floor. Yelena was stood to the side trying to hide her smile as Janco attempted to flip over Ari’s shoulder but didn’t plant the bo staff properly and found himself flailing mid-air before landing with a thud on the floor at his friend’s feet.

“Almost. Try pushing yourself up quicker so that your centre of mass is directly above the bo staff as quickly as possible.”

Janco, still lying on the floor with a pout, nodded and pushed himself off the floor and rose to his feet. He muttered something under his breath and gripped the bo staff tightly in his hands, running briefly before planting the bo staff in the ground and flinging himself into the air. He was quicker to reach the highest point this time and Yelena grinned as he perfectly executed the flip and landed gracefully behind Ari, letting out a small whoop.

“Perfect.”

He grinned at her and she smiled back, both of them holding one another’s gaze before Maren strode between them, breaking the connection. Yelena glanced away, turning towards Ari with a smile.

“Remember you promised to show me that knife fighting technique that Blanchett taught you the other day.”

Ari nodded and bid her farewell with a quick hug as he and Maren picked up their stuff and left the room. Janco was slightly slower at picking up his own stuff and Yelena turned to face him, biting her lip slightly as she tried to build up the courage to ask him. The gold coin that Star had given her sat heavy in her pocket.

"Janco, would you be able to give me lessons on lock picking?" 

He paused, knelt on the floor as he collected his things, and then turned to look back up at her with surprise. 

"Lock picking?" 

"Yes. Ari said that you would be able to help me."

Janco smiled slightly but the smile quickly faded as he pondered her request. She watched him with bated breath. Would he say no because he was worried about why she wanted to learn to pick locks? Did he still think that she was not to be trusted?

Eventually he sighed and pushed himself off the ground, pushing against his bent knees as he did so. Brushing his hands together to wipe the stone dust from the floor off them, he nodded once as he turned to face her.

"I'll do it."

She was about to argue again, trying to reason with him when she suddenly realised what he had said. She blinked, surprised. He offered her a smile and she smiled back.

“Perfect.”

They spent a little while discussing the specifics, where and when they would meet and what was needed. Janco had decided that late-night meetings would be best, when there were fewest people around. The last thing they needed was the servants gossiping about how the food taster was being trained to pick locks by one of the Commander’s captains. Yelena watched as Janco turned to leave, having bid her good evening, and she thrust her hand into her pocket, yanking out the coin and calling after him.

“Wait, Janco,” he turned with raised eyebrows. “Take this, for your time and for trusting me enough to teach me.”

He looked at the coin and frowned. “I can’t take this. It’s yours. I said I’d teach you because I’m your friend and I want to help, not because I wanted money from you.” 

She tried to press it into his hand but he shook his head and she rolled her eyes. “Look, I know what you’re risking by teaching me to pick locks. Just take the money. I … don’t want it so if you make me keep it, I won’t spend it and neither of us will benefit from it.”

He blinked a couple of times but then smirked. “Stubborn, aren’t you?” He sighed and rubbed at his ear as he stared at the coin. “Fine. I’ll take it. But no more. Ever.” His hand lingered on hers as he took the coin and he stared at her with a strange intensity. She couldn’t look away. It was him in the end who broke the eye contact, smirking and taking the coin from her hand, slipping it into his pocket. As he sauntered out of the room, Yelena wondered what he would buy with the money. New weapons? She had heard him discussing some swords and knives with Ari that they had seen at the weapons shop on their last trip into town and it appeared that he had fallen in love with the shop’s entire inventory. With the gold coin, he would be able to buy a large proportion of it at least.

She was relieved that he had agreed. Whilst working up the courage to ask him she had been imagining all sorts of situations - most of which ended with Janco refusing to help and refusing to associate with her anymore. She couldn’t imagine a life now without her training sessions with the duo. To not have Janco in her life … she didn’t even want to consider it. Looking back on it now, she realised that she had been stupid to even hesitate to ask him. Even if he had said no, he wouldn’t have shoved her out of his life like that. He wasn’t that cruel. He was her friend. She smiled to herself as she walked towards the Commander’s office. She liked the thought of having a friend like that.

\---

As Janco walked back to the barracks, he spun the coin between his fingers and stared at it thoughtfully. He had already known that she wanted to learn how to pick locks, he had after all been listening to her conversation with Ari, but he was still confused as to why she wanted to learn. What, behind a locked door, could be so important? Money? Weapons? Papers? Perhaps she wanted to steal her files from Valek to hide something - a pointless exercise as he had everything memorised. She would know that though. Money didn’t make any sense considering she had given the gold coin to him. If she had been that desperate for money, she would have either not given him anything or given him a far smaller denomination. A gold coin was worth a lot - especially for someone who had nothing.

That left weapons. She didn’t have any, nor did she have access to any apart from those they used in training, but those were all returned to the barracks at the end of the day. Did she want to try and steal some of those? He shook his head angrily and thrust his hands into his pockets as he stomped back to the barracks. Of course not. He was overthinking it. She probably had a reasonable explanation for wanting to learn how to pick locks and here he was, just assuming the worst. 

The coin was heavy in his pocket and he paused, absentmindedly reaching for his ear as he made plans. A smirk crossed his face and he bounded towards the barracks, passing numerous soldiers as they left for late-night training. A few scowled at him, especially after he ran into a puddle and mud splashed up, but he ignored them and burst through the barrack doors. Hurrying down the corridors, he threw open the door to the room he shared with Ari and two other captains, both of which looked up in confusion. Ari, who was sitting on his bed, just rolled his eyes, used to his partner’s antics.

“Ari. We need to go shopping. Now.”

Ari shook his head and lay back on his bed, folding his arms behind his head and closing his eyes. “The shops are all shut. It’s late.”

“Not the shop I want to go to.” Janco grabbed Ari’s captain’s jacket from the hook beside him and threw it at his partner, his aim perfect as it hit Ari straight in the chest with some noticeable force. Ari grunted and sat up, a scowl on his face.

“What could you possibly need so urgently at this time of night.”

Janco paused, glancing at the other two Captains who were quite obviously listening into the conversation. Upon realisation that they had been caught, they coughed awkwardly and excused themselves from the room, disappearing down the corridor. “Lock picks.”

Ari groaned and rubbed at his face with his paw of a hand. “And why do you need those so urgently?”

“Because I told Yelena that I would teach her to pick locks. She needs a set of lock picks to pick locks.”

“You have lock picks.”

“I only have one set, and she needs a set for herself to practice!”

Ari glared at his partner. “So you expect me to leave the warmth and relative comfort of the barracks to trek into town to buy a set of lock picks with you.”

“Yes.”

Janco smirked as Ari just groaned and climbed off his bed, slipping on his jacket and reluctantly following Janco out of the barracks.

\---

“How did you even find this place?” Ari asked incredulously as he followed Janco down yet another flight of stairs. Janco just shrugged. He had heard about it from some of his old friends, from when he was a criminal. As far as everyone was aware, he had cut connections with them, left that life behind him. However, that wasn’t entirely true. Whilst he was no longer the criminal he used to be, he had maintained contact with some of his old friends allowing him to keep a foot inside the criminal world. It was handy, especially when they were trying to track someone down. It turned out a lot of the petty criminals in Ixia weren’t particularly loyal to their friends and would happily trade information for money or favours. 

The shop was run by a number of different people, all from different backgrounds, that would open it in different places on different nights. They always changed the location, and you could only enter with a particular phrase. Just to be on the safe side. They sold weapons and tools that wouldn’t be so readily available to others; in this case, lock picks. The Commander didn’t want anyone to be able to get their hands on tools like that, for obvious reasons, so kept a small supply at the castle which soldiers were able to apply for. Janco had been given a set thanks to his previous experience but there were plenty of soldiers, including Ari, who didn’t have a set of their own. This is where the black market came in - providing lock picks to those who needed them, but didn’t necessarily qualify for them in the eyes of the law.

When they reached the old door at the base of the stairs, Janco knocked on it in a short, sharp pattern and the door opened marginally. Leaning forwards, he whispered the code to the person behind the door and then took a step back. Several seconds passed before they heard the clanking as chains were slid back and the door swung open to reveal a short, shrivelled, old woman. Her dark eyes stared right through Janco and he shifted uncomfortably. It was like she could see his soul. He hadn’t met her personally before but he realised that this was one of the district’s seamstresses. In fact, he was fairly sure that she was the one that had taught Dilana before she had come to the castle.

The woman gestured them in and Janco immediately entered the candlelit shop, Ari pausing momentarily before following, giving the woman a wary look. The tables were covered with red velvet, weapons and tools neatly laid for the duo to peruse. Ari immediately drifted over to the daggers that lay nearby whereas Janco strode over to the lock picks. He studied them for a little while, picking them up and holding them up to the light as he inspected each of the picks. He eventually settled on a small set of several wrenches and half-a-dozen different picks, all kept in a small black cloth case. He was about to return to the woman to pay when something caught his eye and he turned to inspect it closer. It was a set of different switchblades, each with beautiful wooden handles. As he ran his fingers over the carefully shaped and polished handles, he smiled, his mind drifting to the curious woman that had entered his life. Who would have thought that the poison taster would end up holding such a position in his heart? In his life. It was her smile that he woke up thinking about in the morning. Her laugh that made his heart skip a beat when they were training. Her voice that distracted him when he was trying to fight. Her eyes that made everything disappear from his mind.

“Either you’ve fallen utterly in love with those switchblades, or you’re thinking of someone else.”

Janco turned with a guilty look to find his partner standing next to him, amused. “What? No of course not. I was just admiring these fine -”

“It’s Yelena, isn’t it?”

Janco for once was speechless, mouth agape as he tried to form the right words. Surely he wasn’t that obvious. If Ari knew, did Yelena know? Ari just smirked. Janco’s heart was racing. What would Ari think? Did he agree with it? Disagree? Think he was mad? Would it impact their friendship? Was this-

“Thought so. So what are you planning to do? Woo her with weapons?”

Relieved that his friend seemed to be accepting of the idea. “That and my brilliant jokes.”

Ari snorted and Janco just scowled at him, turning back to the switchblades. There were so many; how was he supposed to choose? He was about to step back and sigh loudly, telling Ari to choose, when one caught his eye. It was slightly smaller than the length of his hand and had an ebony coloured handle. There was nothing special about it in particular, but for some reason, it seemed to stand out from the rest and he knew that was the one he wanted. He picked it up, trying the switch a couple of times and slashing the air in front of him, spinning it a couple of times around his fingers. It was perfectly balanced. He turned to Ari with a grin.

“This is the one.”

Ari just smiled and picked out a sheath from a nearby stack. “She’ll need one of these to keep it in under her uniform. She can’t go around the castle carrying it in her hand, and she’ll need it on her at all times.”

Janco nodded a couple of times, lost in thought. He was beginning to second guess himself. What if he gave it to her and she didn’t want it? Or thought it strange him buying her several presents?

“I do engravings.” Janco jumped six feet as the small woman appeared suddenly behind him and offered her services. He turned with raised eyebrows and then looked back at the knife. He wanted to get it engraved … but what would he write? I love you seemed a little too forward. ‘We’re really good friends and I want to be more’ also wasn’t appropriate.

“Maybe go with something simple. A little poem or something. Something that doesn’t give away your apparent obsession with her.” Ari darted out of the way of Janco’s punch in his direction, chuckling. Janco’s scowl just deepened. A poem? Sure he was good at rhymes, he came up with them all the time, but they didn’t matter. If it was bad, no one cared. But this would be immortalised on this stupid switchblade. How was he supposed to get everything he felt across in a couple of lines?

“You haven’t got all night kid, so just choose something before this place gets shut down.” the woman snapped and he huffed. Something suddenly sparked in the back of his head and he grinned.

“I’ve chosen. You know the old war symbols don’t you?” All the soldiers did, it was part of their training to make sure that they could decode any messages intercepted by the Commander’s enemies. Janco had never seen them being used but he had always been entranced by the simple yet beautiful symbols. 

“Yes.” the woman grunted and he grinned. “Write what you want on this and I’ll mark it out for you now.”

Janco took the paper and ink and scrawled out the simple message. Ari peered over his shoulder and he could feel his friend grin as he read the message. “You realise she doesn’t know how to read these.” The woman took the message and gave it a dismissive snort, taking the switchblade from Janco and turning her back to the duo to work. 

Janco’s grin widened. “She’s resourceful. She’ll find a way, don’t you worry. I’m willing to bet five silvers on it that she translates it within two weeks.”

“A month.” Ari shook his hand and Janco just laughed. Yelena was intelligent and he had no doubt that she would figure it out. Knowing her, she had probably already taught herself the code and would translate it as soon as he gave it to her.

There was a loud indignant cough from the woman who thrust the switchblade back at Janco with a huff. He took it and studied the symbols with a growing grin. He wouldn’t have been surprised to see the symbols say something else, like ‘the guy who gave you this is an idiot’ but to his relief, it said exactly what he wanted.

Sieges weathered, fight together, friends forever.

He was somewhat appalled at how he had become so soft, but then he imagined the delight in Yelena’s eyes as she received the presents and he couldn’t help but smile back. There was a thump on his back as Ari hit him firmly.  
“Come on you idiot. Let’s pay and get out of here.” As Janco reached for the coin in his pocket, he watched as his partner eyed the woman warily. Ironic how Ari had been so quick to trust Yelena but refused to trust this woman, despite the fact at the time they had both been criminals in his eyes. Just went to show that Ari was a brilliant judge of character. He had, after all, chosen Janco to be his close friend.

Janco paused in the process of pulling the coin out of his pocket. “How much for all of this?” He gestured to the little pile on the counter.

“Nine silvers.” the woman snapped and Janco laughed incredulously. 

“You’ve got to be joking. Two silvers.”

The woman scowled. “Seven silvers. I engraved this for you, with the silver paint may I add. The switchblade is worth at least five and the lock picks are a silver and five coppers and the sheath is five coppers.”

“Perhaps. But I happen to know the shop across town, yes you know which one I’m talking about, would give me all of this for three silvers. So perhaps I’ll just go there.”

He turned on his heel and Ari followed, shaking his head.

“Wait! Fine. Three silvers and five coppers and I’ll throw in this extra sheath.”

Janco just raised an eyebrow. “Lady. The sheath is worth five coppers you said. I don’t want two. The whole lot for three silvers or I leave.” He rested his hand on the door and the woman huffed, swearing under her breath.

“Fine. Three silvers.”

Janco grinned as he strode back to his goods and flipped her the gold coin. The woman stared at it incredulously for a moment before continuing her muttered rant and sorted out the correct change. She thrust at him once she was done, shoving his purchases towards him as well and scowling.

“Don’t bother ever coming back.” she snapped and he grinned, thanking her for her help and gathering everything up. He almost forgot the sheath and Ari had to pick it up for him, following his partner out of the shop and back up the steep steps.

“Well, that was successful.” Janco grinned, turning back to see Ari following him with an amused smile. They walked back to the barracks in silence and Janco mulled over what Ari thought of the whole thing. Ari hadn’t commented specifically on Janco’s feelings towards Yelena, but he hadn’t seemed appalled by the idea. He kept glancing at his friend as they walked in the dark, trying to work out what he was thinking. It was the seventh time that he had glanced at him when he finally built up the courage to ask him what he thought.

“So you’re fi-”

“I won’t stop teasing you about it, but if this is what makes you happy then I will support it entirely. You’re good for one another.”

And that was it. He didn’t say anything as Janco stared at him with shock, but simply continued walking towards the barracks with a nonchalant smile on his face. A grin crossed Janco’s face and he hurried to catch up with his friend. Now all he had to do was give the presents to her.


	10. Chapter 10

This was it. He was going to do it. He was going to give her the presents that he had bought for her. He had barely slept the previous night, instead, lying there awake for hours as he imagined giving her the presents over and over again. He had gone through what seemed like hundreds of variations of the same conversation, as he tried to explain why he had spent the coin on presents for her. The conversations in his head had varied from his confessing his apparent undying love for her to him simply saying he didn’t want to keep the coin to claiming that he had misunderstood why she had given the coin to him and had thought that she wanted him to use it to buy things for her.

He heard footsteps from down the hall and quickly stuffed the presents into his pocket, spinning to face Yelena with a grin. She smiled back, seemingly oblivious to his nervous fidgeting as he repeatedly touched his pocket to make sure the gifts were still there.

“Ready to get started?” he asked, pulling out his own set of lock picks. When she nodded, he led her to one of the nearby doors in the hall and turned the handle to show her that it was locked.

“A lock is fairly simple in that it has a series of pins which are sprung, making them pin tumblers. Normally when you put a key in, it will lift the pin tumblers to different levels depending on the cut of the key, and once they have all aligned, you’ll be able to twist the lock and open the door.”

He reached into his lock pick set and pulled out a simple tension wrench and pick. Handing them to Yelena, he explained their purpose.

“Because we don’t have the key, we use the tension wrench to apply pressure to the lock so that we’re constantly trying to turn it. Then we can use the pick to try and lift up the pin tumblers.” He took them back from Yelena and demonstrated how to insert them into the lock. She leant closer to study his actions and with her being so close, he was able to smell the lavender soap she seemed fond of. The scent had become ingrained with her in his brain - every time he passed a lavender bush he found himself immediately thinking of her. “We can lift the pin tumblers by tilting the lock pick back and forth. You’ll be able to feel the pins being lifted and they click slightly when they’re in place. You then need to be careful that they don’t fall out of place as you move onto the next pin tumbler. Got that?”

He turned to face her, surprised to find her face inches away from his. They just looked at one another for a moment, caught in the moment before she flushed slightly and took a step backwards. She nodded and he grinned, handing her the pick and wrench. “Your turn then.”

Switching places, he watched as she inserted the wrench and the pick. He rested his hand on hers as he helped her to adjust the angle of her tools and it took everything he had not to let his fingers linger on hers. She stood there, a look of determination narrowing her eyes and drawing her mouth into a narrow line. After several attempts, she finally managed to pick the lock and she turned back to him with a grin.  
“I did it!” she cried, before turning back to the door with a slight frown. “But how do we lock it again?”

He raised an eyebrow and gestured to the tools that she held tightly in her hands. “Have a think. Try and work it out.”

She turned back to the lock with a thoughtful expression before smiling and reinserting the lock and tension wrench. However this time, she changed the direction of force on the lock, rotating it the opposite way this time. Janco smiled and nodded as she pushed up the pin tumblers again and locked the door.

“Perfect! Now that’s the easiest door down here, as it only has two pin tumblers. The more pin tumblers it has, the harder it is to pick.”

She nodded and gestured to the other doors. “Where to next?”

\---

They had been down there for several hours now, trying to pick different locks. It took her a little longer to master each lock but she persevered until the door clicked open and Janco smiled as she stepped back each time with a satisfied grin. When she managed to open an eight-tumbler door he chuckled to himself. Of course, she wouldn’t have any problem with picking locks. It seemed that she was able to pick any skill up quickly, no matter what it was, always approaching each challenge with the same enthusiasm and level of determination. There were soldiers he knew who would give up quicker.

“This last lock has ten pins. If you can open this one, you’ll be able to handle all the pin-tumbler locks or key locks in the castle. Except for the dungeon bolts. They’re complicated, and it’s not like we can practice on them.”  
His heart raced a little and he frowned as he turned towards her. “You’re not going to need that skill, are you?” He waited for her answer, a little worried. Did she want to learn how to pick locks because she was worried that she would be locked up again down there?

“I sincerely hope not.”

Satisfied by her answer, he nodded. “Good.”

She turned back to trying to pick the lock and muttered to herself as the pick kept slipping and she lost grip on the pins. Watching as she bit her lip as she leant closer to get a better look, Janco tried to keep a straight face. A grin, however, crossed both of their faces as the lock clicked suddenly and she jumped up and down a little with excitement. 

After congratulating her, he gestured to the rows of doors that they had been practising with. “Now you need to practice. The quicker you can spring a lock the better.”

He took a quick breath. This was it. “I would let you borrow my picks, but I never know exactly when I might need them.” He winked at her and smirked as she rolled her eyes. Reaching into his pocket, he brought out the lock picks that he had bought for her and passed them to her. “So …. I used that coin you gave me to buy a set for you.”

She stared at the present that he had just given her, eyes wide and mouth set in a small ‘o’. She glanced back up at him with a concerned frown.

“That money was for you.”

He smiled. “Oh, there’s plenty left. Even after I bought you this.”

His heart was racing but he was trying to restrain the grin that was fighting to take over his face. He pulled out the switchblade and passed it to her, watching as she took it slowly and studied it with a small frown. Her lips were pursed as she studied the symbols, running her fingers over them carefully.

“What’s this?”

The grin finally broke and he clutched his hands tightly behind his back to stop them shaking. “Push the button.”

She pressed the button and jumped slightly as the shining blade sprung from the casing. She ran her fingers over it carefully, admiring it before looking up with wide eyes. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and she frowned at him with confusion.

“Thank you, Janco.” His heart skipped a beat when she said his name. “But why did you buy these for me?”

Because I love you. Because you make me happy. Because I want you to be happy. Because you’re the reason I wake up in the morning. No, he couldn’t say any of those. Not right now. “Guilt, I suppose.”

“Guilt?” The confusion hadn’t left her face and she looked a little worried.

“I called you a criminal. I was once a criminal, but I’ve gone past it, and no one has held it against me.” It was true, he still felt immense guilt over calling her a criminal - he had been far too quick to judge. “Besides, I have a terrible feeling you may need them. General Brazell’s soldiers have been swaggering around the barracks, bragging about who is going to ‘take out’ Reyad’s killer.” Anger rose in his chest and he had to swallow it back. Some of the things they had been saying … they deserved the worst. Yelena paled slightly and he quickly continued. “They’re quite imaginative, and I had to hold Ari back from challenging the lot a couple of times.” It had been a particularly bad day and they had walked in to hear them discussing what they were going to do to Yelena. He had completely frozen, heart-pounding and he had barely processed everything in time to stop Ari from lunging towards them. He had grabbed his friend by the shirt and pulled him back, fighting against his beast of a friend. Ari was seething, red in the face, and was muttering a variety of threats and curses but Janco remained still and held him back. Anger rushed through him, a wave of furious cold anger, but he knew better than to rush into a fight without planning. Ari fought with his heart, but Janco fought with his brains. Oh they would pay, and if any of them even took a step towards her they would find themselves in the infirmary for a very long time. But fighting the group now, two against twenty, would just get them hurt and then they wouldn’t be able to protect her.

“Ten against one isn’t good odds, even for Ari and me.”

Yelena nodded, taking a deep breath. “I’ll stay away from them.”

“Good. I’d better get moving. I’ve drawn the night shift. But first, I’ll escort you to your room.”

Yelena looked startled. “That’s not necessary.”

“Ari would kill me if I didn’t.” Yeah sure, blame it on Ari. It definitely wasn’t because he wanted to spend more time with her. Or make sure that everyone knew she was under their protection. If anyone dared to try and mess with her, they would have to go through the pair of them first. He shuddered at the thought of her walking through the dark corridors of the castle on her own.

He held the door open for her as they left the corridor that they had been working in and together they made their way through the twisting corridors of the castle. Janco remembered how, when he had first visited the castle, he had become completely lost in the maze of corridors. The servants hadn’t wanted to help him particularly, wary of the new face, and so he had wandered the halls until the familiar sight of the main corridor had greeted him. He had quickly learnt the layout of the castle and would often use it to his advantage to get to places quickly or lose the occasional servant that he had accidentally flirted with too much.

He hadn’t flirted with any of the servants for a while now, not since Yelena had come into his life, he realised. Even before he had realised it, a small part of him had subconsciously acknowledged his feelings for her. He glanced down at her as she walked along beside him, both of them in peaceful silence. His heart skipped a beat, as it did every time he saw her, and he had to look away again. Servants passed them and he was worried they would become suspicious, start the rumour mill that they so loved participating in. Even Dilana had commented on Yelena the other day when he had taken some clothes to be mended. She had been chatting to him about the news going around the castle and had mentioned Yelena and how some of the servants believed that she was stepping out with someone in the castle. No-one knew who, of course, but there were bets on who it was. Janco tried to feign interest as he asked who was on the list, and Dilana just smirked, her nose crinkling as she let out a knowing laugh.

“You’re near the top you know.” she had told him and he had tried to keep a straight face. What if word of this got back to Yelena?

“Who’s winning at the moment?” Winning wasn’t the right word, but the servants were some of the best at observing people. Most of them could slip right by you unnoticed and so they often saw and overheard things that others missed. Whoever they thought Yelena showed the most interest in was likely to be right.

“Valek.” Dilana had grinned as she had handed back the newly mended garment to a scowling Janco.

“Well of course she’s spending time with Valek. He’s her mentor. He’s teaching her about poisons. It’s his job.”

“What about the fact that she’s moved into his suite?” she had teased, knowing full well that the mention of Yelena’s constant close proximity to Valek would rile Janco up.

“A security precaution and nothing more. You’ve surely heard Brazell’s soldiers talking about what they would do to her if they got their hands on her.” Dilana’s smile had disappeared and she shook her head sadly. “If there’s anyone most suited to protecting her and making sure that she isn’t hurt or killed, it’s the Commander’s assassin.”

Dilana had nodded and played with her golden curls. “Look after her, won’t you?”

“Janco. We’re here.”

He blinked several times as he realised that he had been lost in thought and had walked several paces past the door to Valek and Yelena’s suite. She was stood at the door with a raised eyebrow, a slight smirk on her face.

“So much for protecting me. You were so busy daydreaming you wouldn’t have noticed if I had disappeared!”

He huffed and strode back, linking arms with her and leading her further down the corridor.

“We’re not there yet, I had a surprise for you first.”

She raised an eyebrow, sceptical, but let him pull her around the corner; out of sight of the guards that stood outside the suite all day, every day. He glanced quickly back at the guards and was relieved to see that they didn’t seem to have noticed his strange behaviour. As he moved his attention back to her, he realised that he had pushed her against the wall and he was inches away from her. She was looking up at him, a look of surprise on her face. He stared down at her for a moment, just gazing at her before he realised what he was doing and quickly stumbled backwards. It took her a couple of moments to realise that he had moved and she straightened, stepping away from the wall and avoiding his gaze. 

Janco bit his lip as he tore his eyes away from her and started reaching into his uniform pocket. He had almost forgotten.

“Almost forgot,” he pulled out the sheath and passed it to her. She took it carefully, turning it over in her hands as she studied it. “It goes around your right thigh. Remember to make a nice big hole in your pants pocket so when you pull the weapon it won’t get caught in the fabric.”

He shrugged awkwardly and span on his heels, intending to leave when she spoke up. “Janco,” His heart flinched slightly as she used his name. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t heard it before. He had heard it thousands of times, usually from Ari as he yelled at him or used it with exasperation. But it was different coming from her. “What are these symbols?”

She was gesturing to the symbols on the switchblade and he smirked. Nice try. He might as well give her a clue though. “They’re the old battle symbols used by the King when he sent out messages and orders during the war times. It didn’t matter if the enemy intercepted them, because they were unintelligible to anyone who didn’t know how to decipher them. Some of the soldiers still use them. They work well in military exercises.”

She nodded slowly. “What do they say?”

Ah. That was going too far. His grin widened as he shrugged. “Too easy, Yelena. I’m sure you’ll figure it out … eventually.” He couldn’t help it and laughed with delight when he saw her face crumple with annoyance.

“Come here so I can punch you.” she replied, huffing and he darted out of her reach as she lunged for him. He needed to leave. He was late for his shift and he was already going to be in trouble. It was worth it though, for her.

“I’d love to oblige you, my dear, but I’m late.”

She huffed and they parted ways, Janco pausing in the corridor to watch as she walked towards the door of the suite. She paused at the door and glanced back towards him. Thank you, she mouthed and he smiled, giving her a small bo staff before retreating back down the corridor. She disappeared and he turned, his quick pace turning into a sprint as he made his way to the barracks. Ari would have a fit. He didn’t care though, he was too busy replaying their conversation in his head and cringing. What had possessed him to call her his dear? He groaned loudly and, pushing through the doors that led outside, disappeared into the darkness.


	11. Chapter 11

Yelena nodded to the guards as she entered through the doors into Valek’s suite. They ignored her. Sighing to herself, she let the doors close behind her and after giving Janco’s gifts one more glance, slipped them into her uniform. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought about Janco and his gleeful smirks as he gave her the presents. Presents that he had bought with his own money for no apparent reason, at least, no convincing reason. And then in the corridor when he had pushed her against the wall. Her heart had been racing - he had been so close. She had been able to feel his breath against her, warm and fast as he had been breathing as quickly as she had. She could still smell the musky pine scent that she had come to associate with him - Pine and Mischief as he called it. Ari said it was the smell of someone who had been rolling in the mud. She found herself thinking about Janco more and more recently and was beginning to realise why. But it would be impossible. As the poison taster, she wasn’t allowed to date anyone. Well, actually all Valek had said was that she wasn’t allowed a husband … 

“Where have you been?”

She had walked fully into the suite now and had emerged into Valek’s office, where he was sitting behind his desk. It looked like he had been waiting for her, and he was giving her a raised eyebrow.

“With Janco.” Yelena replied, holding his gaze. His eyes narrowed slightly and he had stood with his hands resting on his hips. He didn’t usually ask her what she had done with her day. As long as she turned up to taste the Commander’s food on time, she was left to her own devices. A jolt of annoyance made her frown and it only deepened when he asked what she had been doing.

“Discussing fighting tactics.” It was true. They had been discussing fighting tactics. Whilst picking locks. She crossed her arms and he huffed slightly before relaxing his arms and holding them awkwardly beside him. 

“Oh. Well, that’s all right. But from now on, I need to know where you are at all times, and I suggest you stay in the castle and keep a low profile for a while. General Brazell’s guards have set a bounty on your head.”

Fear pulsed through her chest. “A bounty?”

“It could be a rumour or just drunken soldiers’ talk. But until they leave, I want you to be protected. I don’t want to train another taster.”

What an inconvenience that would be. “I’ll be careful.”

“No. You’ll be paranoid. You’ll move in a crowd, keep to well-lit areas and you’ll make certain to have an escort with you whenever you’re walking down empty hallways late at night. Understood?”

Well, this would make meeting with Janco to pick locks a little more tricky. A pang of regret pulsed through her as she bemoaned the loss of her training sessions with him. Spending time with him was something she looked forward to. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” He then proceeded to explain about the upcoming meeting the Commander was going to have with the Generals and the brandies that they would be bringing. As the poison taster, it was her job to know the taste of each brandy so that she could taste each one for poisons before the Commander took his drink. Valek produced a small case and instructed her to taste each one several times over that evening and the following day so that she would know the tastes by heart.

She grabbed a decanter at random and as she poured herself, she made a mental note of the label. General Dinno from MD-8. She took a small sip and rolled the liquid around her tongue, trying to commit the strong taste to memory before swallowing the cherry flavoured alcohol. Her face flushed as her throat burned with the strength of the drink and Valek smirked slightly.

“I suggest you use the ‘slurp and sip’ method so you don’t get drunk.”

Yelena nodded and reached for another glass as Valek retreated back to his desk.

\---

Yelena waited patiently for Valek to escort her to the Commander’s meeting, running through the different flavours and names in her mind. She had spent the day tasting and testing herself and only when she had been able to name all of them correctly by taste had she stopped and considered herself ready. When Valek eventually came down the stairs she raised an eyebrow, impressed by what she saw.

He was in full dress uniform, with red braids draping his shoulders and medals lined up over his left breast, six deep. He oozed dignity, a man of stature. Yelena was almost impressed until she noticed the look of sincere discomfort and annoyance on his face. She barely covered her laughter and he huffed.

“Enough. I have to wear this damn thing once a year and, as far as I’m concerned, it’s one time too many.” Valek tugged at his collar. “Ready?”

She joined him at the door and she couldn’t help but wonder how the dress uniform of a captain looked, and how a particular captain would look in it. She knew Janco was well built, and she suspected that this outfit would only help to accentuate his athletic build. The red of the outfit would only help to accentuate his green eyes, as Valek’s did for the bright blue of his eyes. She could spend hours staring into Janco’s. There was something about them that seemed to captivate her whenever they made eye contact, a fierce intensity to them that made it a struggle to look away. It was like everything else faded away and didn’t matter, and then when they broke eye contact it was like she had been thrown back into the chaos of everyday life and had to pause for a minute to take everything in again. To catch her breath again, a breath that she didn’t realise that she had been holding. Maybe one day she could persuade him to dress up in the dress uniform for her.

“Yelena? Are you ready?”

She jolted and turned to look at Valek who was giving her an impatient frown. She nodded and together they made their way to the Commander’ war room, arriving just as the General’s began to arrive. As Yelena took her seat on the small stool placed behind the Commander, she made eye contact with Brazell and he glared at her. Her eyes flitted away from him and she shuddered slightly as they landed on Advisor Mogkan, hating the way he studied her with an appraising gaze. She quickly sat down and was relieved to find that she was hidden from Brazell’s glares, although she was unable to hide from Mogkan, who seemed to find her the most interesting thing in the room as he continued gazing at her with a cunning smirk.

Soon the meeting began and he glanced away, a physical weight being lifted from Yelena’s shoulders as she settled more comfortably into the chair and turned her attention to the Commander.

\---

As the Commander rose, Valek too got to his feet and along with the Commander’s bodyguards, they headed to the door and prepared to leave. Realising that Yelena wasn’t coming, Valek gestured for her to follow and she lurched to her feet, stumbling forwards a couple of paces as she attempted to regain her balance. All of the brandy she had tasted that night was beginning to consume her and everything was spinning. The world seemed to have a slight haze to it and she was struggling to focus on anything in particular. She stumbled along behind Valek and as the door shut behind them, a loud burst of sound emerged from the room from the angry Generals. 

“That should stir things up a bit,” the Commander commented with a wan smile. 

“I would advise against vacationing in MD-8 this year,” Valek advised sarcastically. “The way Dinno reacted to your announcement about the southern delegation I would expect him to pepper your beach house with sand spiders.” Even Valek shivered. “A horribly painful way to die.”

Yelena’s gait was unsteady as they made their way to the Commander’s suite. A couple of times she almost stumbled into the wall and she had to put her hand out before her to protect herself. The world was spinning faster and she was beginning to feel a little nauseous. Valek and the Commander talked for a short while, ignoring Yelena’s unbalanced presence nearby before the Commander finally retreated into his suite and shut the door behind him.

“Yelena, there’s something I need to go and do. You can make it back to the suite can’t you? It’s not that far.” Valek asked as he strode over to where Yelena was leant and she nodded, the motion making her feel worse.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. You go do what you need to do.” She waved her hand at him, trying to get him to leave and after a short pause as he stared at her, he shook his head and disappeared off down the corridor leaving her on her own. Completely and utterly drunk with absolutely no idea where she was heading.

\---

Janco groaned as he turned yet another corner and continued down the corridor, identical to the other hundred that he had walked down that evening. As part of his Captain duties, he had been put on a late evening guard shift to check out the castle whilst the Generals were there for the Commander’s meeting. It was a pointless task - the servants would notice anyone who didn’t belong and immediately raise the alarm - but his superiors still insisted he did it. It was probably just to get rid of him for the evening. He yawned and wiped at his face, trying to work out how much further he had to go. He was just turning another corner when he walked straight into someone, stumbling backwards and grabbing them by the shoulders as they wobbled precariously. The scent of lavender hit him and he looked down, realising that it was Yelena that he had walked into and he quickly took another few steps back. She stood there, blinking a couple times at him before a smile broke across her face.

“Janco! How lovely to see you.”

Something wasn’t right. She looked like she was about to fall over and her eyes, normally sharp with intelligence and awareness, weren’t focusing properly. He sniffed and realised that another scent lingered beneath the lavender. Alcohol. Frowning, he sniffed again. Surely not? Yelena didn’t drink as far as he was aware, and she certainly didn’t seem the kind of person to drink this much. She wobbled again and Janco lunged out, grabbing her by the shoulders again and holding her upright.

“Yelena what on Earth are you doing? Are you insane? You know you shouldn’t be out on your own with Brazell’s guards on the loose. You’re supposed to have an escort at all times.”

“I’m just heading back to my room now. Stop fussing.”

“You’re heading in completely the wrong direction,” he gently turned her around so that she was facing the opposite way down the hall. “Your room is that way.”

There was a slight pause, and then a quiet ‘oh’. Sighing to himself, he linked arms with her to support her and led her down the corridor. “Come on, I’ll take you back. Don’t worry.”

She mumbled something which he didn’t catch and he frowned again. What was Valek thinking, letting her roam the castle like this? Surely he had heard her leave the suite. Their rooms were close to one another, were they not? And Janco knew that Valek liked to stay up until the early hours of the morning working. It would be almost impossible for Yelena to leave without Valek noticing. The bastard. He should have stopped her.

Janco still didn’t understand why she was completely drunk but he decided that the priority was getting her back to her bedroom and safe. It frightened him to be honest, how vulnerable she was at that moment in time. He didn’t dare think about what could have happened. Especially after that bounty had been placed on her head. He and Ari had heard about it that morning and this time it had been Ari who had had to restrain Janco from attacking the group of men that had been leering over her.

When they arrived at Valek’s suite, he paused as he debated letting go of Yelena to open the doors. Deciding that it would be a mistake and that she would most likely fall over, he ordered the guards to open the door. They gave the duo a questioning look but nodded and opened the double doors, holding them open as Janco helped Yelena into the room and then shutting them with a quiet thud behind them.

When Yelena stopped walking, Janco sighed. “Come on Yelena, we’re almost there. Let’s find Valek and then I’ll give him a piece of my mind.” Janco trailed off at the end as they stumbled into the main office area of the suite and found that Valek was nowhere to be seen. Yelena broke free of Janco’s grip and stood there for a moment swaying, before throwing herself forwards and collapsing onto the sofa with a quiet sigh.

“Seriously?” Janco asked, resting his hands on his hips with a sigh. His lips twitched slightly as he studied her. Completely relaxed thanks to the alcohol, her face was free of the usual stress and worry that always seemed to shadow it and she seemed happier. Freer. However the smile disappeared again as he thought of her missing mentor, annoyance panging through him. Where the hell was he?

“Sit down.” Yelena commanded, gesturing to the small armchair that was opposite her. He glanced at it and frowned, shaking his head. 

“I can’t stay Yelena. I shouldn’t be here to begin with. Especially not alone with you, when you’re like this.” He rubbed at his ear and frowned, realising that his chances of getting her back into bed were extremely slim. She gestured to the seat again with a wave of her hand and he huffed, glancing back at the door. Surely if he stayed for just a short while then it wouldn’t matter. And it wasn’t like he could just leave her there - what if she wondered off again or did something stupid. A quick glance around the room gave him a hundred reasons not to leave her alone - from poisons in mysterious vials to sharp weapons. He sighed and moved round in-front of the seat, sitting down slowly and perching on the edge of the seat. He didn’t want to get too comfortable or otherwise he might never leave. How he had longed for an evening like this, where he could just spend it alone with Yelena and they could talk into the early hours of the morning. Preferably with some good food and a lot of candles. He didn’t want it to be like this. Especially when chances were, she wouldn’t remember anything in the morning.

\---

Everything was still hazy. At least the world wasn’t spinning anymore now that she was sat down. She still didn’t feel right though. And she wasn’t entirely sure why Janco was sitting opposite her, giving her a curious look.

“What’s that look for?” she asked, frowning at him. He was leaning forwards, his hands clutched tightly and he looked a little uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the chair. They were quite lumpy. He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“I’m trying to get you to go to bed and much to no-one's surprise, you’re being awkward and so now I’m stuck here looking after you.”

“You could leave you know. It’s not like I’m going to go anywhere. I’m perfectly safe here. There are guards outside.”

“It’s not so much the danger outside that I’m worried about, but rather the danger you pose to yourself. You’re not exactly, in control of yourself at the moment.”

He stretched, yawning, and she watched as his shirt rose up a little revealing his toned midriff. Heat flushed in her cheeks and her thoughts returned to the carefully fitting dress uniform that Valek had been wearing earlier.

“Do you have a dress uniform?” she asked, tilting her head as she studied him carefully and tried to imagine him in one.

He frowned but laughed at her sudden question. “Yes I do. All the Captains have one but we only ever wear it at special events. The rest of the time it remains carefully folded away in my trunk where it belongs. It’s a horrible thing.”

“Describe it to me? Why’s it so bad?”

He smirked. “It’s ridiculously tight and stiff which means that I struggle to breathe in it. It does of course highlight my excellent physique.”

“I’m sure it does.” Yelena muttered as she imagined the stiff material accentuating his muscled but lean figure. Janco started, his smirk disappearing and eyes widening slightly as he sat up a little straighter. Oops. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He muttered something to himself and then started twisting in the chair, rubbing the back of his neck with a grimace.

“God my neck is stiff. Everything aches. Training was rough today and walking around the castle for hours hasn’t helped.”

Imagining her hands helping to ease the tension in his long ropy muscles started a quiet giggling fit and Yelena tried to muffle it before Janco could notice. She got up from where she was sitting and walked behind the armchair, ignoring Janco’s curious eyes as he watched her stumble around him. Before she could stop herself, she had rested her hands on his shoulders and had started to massage the muscles. The alcohol had taken complete control, and despite the small sober part of her brain yelling at her to stop, she couldn’t and continued to work at his stiff shoulders.

He had stilled completely and as soon as she had put her hands on his shoulders, he had straightened and his hands had shot up and grabbed at her wrists, stopping them in their tracks.

“It’s just a massage.” she muttered and he didn’t respond, continuing to stare straight ahead. He cleared his throat briefly and after a long pause, let go of her wrists and she relaxed slightly. Not fully, but partially. Yelena smirked and continued kneading at the muscles in an attempt to work out the stress knots. She had been close to him before when they were duelling together or he was helping her to adjust her technique, but it had never been like this. With the two of them alone and away from the prying eyes of the servants and their friends. Alone like this, anything could happen.

“What would you do if the world was perfect and you didn’t need to be a soldier anymore?” Yelena moved her hands to his shoulder blades and he took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders slightly. He cleared his throat again and huffed a laugh. She hadn’t realised quite how muscled he was, as he usually wore a sleeved top whilst training, and her mind drifted as she wondered what he would look like with his uniform on a puddle on the floor.

“So when you’re drunk you get philosophical? Who would have thought? I don’t know. I suppose I would be an arms teacher of some sort? I know how to use a great number of weapons and people say I’m not half bad at teaching.”

Even without seeing his face she could sense the smirk and she snorted. “It’s a perfect world remember? No weapons allowed.”

“So I guess a lock picking instructor isn’t needed either?”

“Would a perfect world even need locks?”

He paused for a moment, pondering the question. “I guess I would like to travel the world? See different places and cultures. Although nowhere with sand. Or where it’s too hot. Or too cold. Or rains too much. You know, maybe I wouldn’t like travelling. You’d be an acrobat wouldn’t you?”

She smiled. It was strange having someone in her life who knew little things like that about her, and actually cared enough to remember. “Yeah. I had forgotten how much I missed it until the training exercise when I was back in the trees.”

He laughed. “You caused us so much trouble with that exercise. Everyone was furious with you, myself included. You led us all in the wrong direction and then swung off high above our heads like some deranged tree monster. You were a right sight with all those leaves and mud stuck to you. I wouldn’t change that day for the world though. If we hadn’t been chosen by Valek, we would never have met you.”

He reached up again, and took one of her arms, rubbing the tender skin on the inside of her arm with his thumb, rough from years of training. He still wasn’t looking at her and his whole body had stiffened again, his body barely breathing as he took few, shallow breaths. Her hands had stopped when he had taken her arm, but she was aroused by the increased contact with him and slipped her other hand downwards. Reyad be damned. The brandy had released her from her fears. Before he could react, her fingers were on the buttons of his trousers, fumbling as she tried to undo them. Instantly she felt his other hand reach down and grab her firmly around the wrists, stopping her in her tracks. He had stiffened completely and was shaking his head.

“Yelena. No. You’re drunk.” His voice was hoarse.

They remained like that for a moment, neither of them moving as he let out a quiet sigh. The chair creaked as he let go of her wrists and stood up, finally turning to face her. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes had taken on that strange intensity that occasionally occupied them. Much to her surprise, he bent slightly and slipped his hands behind her legs and her back, lifting her up and carrying her from the office.

“You’re going to have to tell me which one your room is.”

“That one.” she mumbled, gesturing to a door as they passed it. He fumbled as he opened the door whilst carrying her, and once the door had swung open, he strode into the bedroom and laid her down carefully on the bed. He moved down to the end of the bed, taking her feet in his hands and carefully pulling her boots off.

“You can’t sleep with those on.” he murmured softly, placing the boots on the floor and pulling the blanket over her, brushing the hair off her face. “Get some sleep, Yelena.”

She watched him, her view slightly fuzzy as she tried to focus on him. The room was dark and she was barely able to make out more than his silhouette but she could sense his gaze on her. He sighed, rubbing at his face with his hand before muttering something else and heading out of the room. A pang of loneliness hit her and she realised how much she had been comforted by his presence there. Everything was spinning and she squeezed her eyes closed, curling up in a ball and wishing everything would just go away.

\---

Janco shut the door behind him, carefully making sure that it didn’t bang as he straightened and turned to leave the suite. His heart was pounding and his face was flushed. What a terrible turn of events. It wasn’t that he hadn’t enjoyed having her so close, massaging his shoulders and running her fingers over his back and well, further down. In fact, he had enjoyed it rather too much. But the problem was that he didn’t want her to do anything that she would regret the following day, that is if she remembered it. He didn’t want anything to happen between them whilst she was drunk. He would be taking advantage of her. He wanted everything to happen naturally, with a little less alcohol involved, and perhaps a few more chocolates. Did she even like chocolate? He took a deep breath and re-entered Valek’s office, in the middle of planning a cold bath when he got back to the barracks, when he found himself being slammed up against the wall and something cold and sharp being pressed to his neck. Bloody Valek.

His boss was inches from his face, staring at him with his sapphire cold, narrowed eyes. The blade was digging into his neck and he struggled against it, hissing as it bit into his skin and he felt the sharp sting.

“What the hell Valek?”

“What are you doing here? What are you doing in my suite? What were you doing coming from Yelena’s room?”

“Remove the knife and I’ll tell you.” Janco hissed. The pressure on his neck lessened slightly, allowing him to speak, but it remained close and Valek’s eyes warned that it would quickly return if he didn’t like what he heard.

“I was helping Yelena back to her room after  _ you  _ abandoned her. I found her wandering aimlessly and completely drunk.” he spat, anger bubbling up inside him.

Valek blinked a couple of times before dropping the knife to his side and stepping back. Janco removed himself from the wall and brushed his uniform down a couple of times, scowling at Valek. He ran a finger over his neck and the scowl deepened when he looked at his fingers and saw blood smeared on them.

“I sent her back to her room because I had to do something and we were close.”

Janco’s hands fisted by his side and the anger grew. “So what! She was  _ drunk _ and you left her. You’ve heard the rumours. You’ve heard the gossip. You  _ know  _ what Brazell’s soldiers will do if they get their hands on her.” He paused, taking a sharp breath and lowering his voice. He had been shouting without realising and the last thing they needed was Yelena coming out to see what the noise was.

“They are mostly rumours, Janco. We don’t know if there is even a bounty on her head.”

“So what! Even if there isn’t a bounty, the soldiers still want to get their revenge. They’re furious and they all want to be the one to take down Reyad’s killer. I’ve heard  _ disgusting  _ things in the barracks. The things they want to do to her.” He was shaking with anger and even Valek had paled slightly. “I could  _ never  _ forgive myself if something happened to her, and so I wasn’t just going to leave her vulnerable in the corridor for anyone to find.”

“You should have got a guard to escort her to the suite. You had no right to come in here-”

“Come on. We both know Yelena. She would hate to be escorted by a stranger even when she was sober, let alone  _ drunk _ . I don’t even know  _ why  _ she’s drunk but I couldn’t even just take her to the doors of your suite and leave her there. What if she wandered off again or decided she was thirsty and took a drink from one of these hundreds of mystery vials you keep in here.”

“She’s not stupid. She’s not a child that needs looking after.”

“No, she’s not. But she’s important to me, and who knows what she would do whilst she’s drunk. She manages to defy everyone’s expectations and leave everyone guessing whilst she’s sober. Add in a lot of alcohol, loss of awareness and judgement and increased confidence and you don’t stand a chance of predicting what she would or wouldn’t do.” He thought back to her trying to make a move on him and he shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that.

Valek was about to speak again but Janco interrupted him, his anger unrestrained. He’s voice was raised again but he didn’t care. He just wanted to make his point. “I know that you don’t care for her, at least not even close to the way the rest of us do, but even if it’s for selfish reasons, even if it’s just so that you don’t have to retrain another poison taster, at least  _ try  _ and keep her alive.”

He shook his head and strode for the doors, slamming them open and making the guards the other side of the doors jump. They quickly tried to regain their composure as he hurried past them, the doors slamming again loudly behind him as he left Valek just standing in his office, a slightly startled look on his face. If anything happened to Yelena,  _ anything _ , Valek would be the first to pay.


	12. Chapter 12

Several days had passed since the Commander’s meeting and tensions had been high in the castle. The Commander had been meeting each General in turn, and it was on the third day when Yelena came to taste his breakfast, that she found him in a meeting with Brazell and Mogkan. She was surprised to see that the Commander’s eyes, usually sharp and observing everything, were glazed and his voice was monotonous as if he were half asleep. When they saw Yelena enter the room, they snapped at her to leave and stand outside until they called her back in. When she didn’t move, Mogkan hurried over and shoved her out into the throne room, closing the door behind him with a snarl. The order hadn’t come from Valek or the Commander - if it had, she wouldn’t have questioned it - and so she was torn over whether or not to follow the orders. The idea of Brazell and Mogkan giving her orders irritated her and she was just about to go and find Valek when he burst into the throne room, a hard look on his face.

When he saw Yelena he came to a sudden halt and frowned. “Yelena, what are you doing out here? Haven’t you tasted his breakfast yet?” 

Yelena shook her head and explained, watching as fear crossed his face and he pushed past her to enter the office. She followed close on his tail and was alarmed to see Mogkan standing behind the Commander, pressing his fingertips into the Commander’s temples. Slight panic flashed in the Advisor’s eyes when he saw Valek but he recovered quickly and stepped away.

“You can definitely feel, Sir, that this is an excellent way to ease a headache.”

When the Commander started moving again, Yelena stood patiently as Valek explained that he wanted to talk to the Commander in private. The Commander rescheduled his meeting with Brazell and Mogkan, and Yelena watched as the duo left the room with small smirks on their faces. Valek ordered Yelena to taste the Commander’s food and he watched with an intense expression as she carefully tasted it. She rechecked the cooling tea and the lukewarm omelette but upon tasting no foreign substances, stepped back and gave them the all-clear.

“Yelena, if I have to eat cold food again, I’ll have you whipped. Understand?”

Yelena just nodded, mumbling her understanding, knowing that any excuse would fall on deaf ears. She was dismissed abruptly and, hurrying out of the office and through the throne room, she realised how hungry she was and diverted her course to the kitchens. Distracted by the thought of food, she didn’t see Mogkan blocking her course until it was too late and she didn’t have a chance to escape his grasp. He linked arms with her and immediately all of the stress and panic washed away and she felt content. He led her to an isolated section of the castle and despite the fact that her brain was yelling at her to be scared, she didn’t seem to be able to produce the emotion. She wasn’t even hungry anymore.

As they came to a deserted corridor, he slowed to a halt and studied her carefully, his silky grey eyes gentle as he unhooked his arm from hers and traced the black diamonds on her uniform sleeve, a gentle and tender action.

“My Yelena,” he murmured and as soon as he let go of her arm, fear exploded back into her chest and she gasped for breath. She tried to move but something held her tight, her muscles refusing to listen to her desperate pleas. She belatedly realised that he was the magician that Valek had been able to sense during the meeting.

“Had I guessed that you would cause such trouble I never would have brought you to Brazell’s orphanage.” He smirked as Yelena frowned, still struggling against his tight hold over her movement. “Didn’t Reyad tell you that I found you?”

Still struggling to breathe, Yelena told him that Reyad hadn’t, her voice husky from the lack of oxygen. Mogkan smirked and took her chin in his hand, lifting it and forcing her to look him in the eye.

“You were lost in the jungle, only six years old. Such a beautiful, bright child. Such a delight. I rescued you from the claws of a tree leopard because I knew you had potential. But you were too stubborn, too independent. The harder we tried, the more you resisted. Even now, when I’m locked into you, you’re still fighting me. I can command your body.”

To prove his point, he lifted his left arm and like a puppet on strings, Yelena found her left arm rising too, to mirror his. He was the puppet master and she was the puppet, completely at his mercy. “But if I try to control both your mind and your body, you would eventually thwart me.” He shook his head in disbelief, amazed. 

“Fortunately, subtle pressure is all that’s required.” Pulling his hand away from her chin, he made a pinching gesture with his finger and thumb and Yelena immediately began to panic, her throat closing entirely. She had been struggling to breathe before, but now it was impossible. Desperate for air, she sank to the ground. Her mind was screaming at her to take a breath but she couldn’t. Wouldn’t. Logic broke through and she remembered Irys’ attack. Perhaps if she recited poisons…

“Such strength.” Mogkan murmured, admiration evident in his tone. “But it won’t save you this time.”

This was it. She was going to die. After everything that had happened. After she had met everyone in this new life of hers. After she finally thought that she had a chance of living a happier life. Even if she was the poison taster, even if she was constantly surrounded by people that hated her and wanted to get their revenge, she was also surrounded by some people that cared about her. That she herself cared about. She suddenly felt so alone. There was no-one here to rescue her. To arrive at the last minute to save her. She was alone, and she hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye. To Ari and Marren. To Dilana and Valek. To  _ Janco _ . She thought of what could have been and it broke her heart. Mogkan leaned forwards and kissed her on the forehead, a tender, fatherly kiss. Immediately peace began to flow through her and she stopped resisting. It didn’t hurt anymore. Everything blurred and she could barely see Mogkan anymore. She could only feel him as he reached and took her hand in his own.

She leant back against the wall, barely able to think anymore, simply clutching Mogkan’s hand as everything around her faded into nothing. An unwelcome jolt brought her from her relaxed state and all of a sudden the blockage in her throat, like a noose wrapped tightly around it, loosened and she was able to breathe again.

She gasped for breath, the world around her coming into focus, and she realised that she was sprawled on the floor. Valek was beside her, knelt on top of Mogkan’s chest with his hands around the magician’s neck. However Valek’s eyes were on Yelena, worried and alert.

When Valek stood, yanking Mogkan to his feet, all Mogkan did was smile, his eyes flashing with amusement.

“I hope you’re aware of the penalty for being a magician in Ixia. If not, I’d be delighted to enlighten you.” Valek snapped but the advisor seemed unfazed.

Yelena groaned quietly as she shifted on the floor. If Valek hadn’t been there to save her, she would be dead by now. She had thought it was all over. Everything still hurt and she was still gasping for air, but she couldn’t help but feel relieved that someone else was there to help her. That someone else was there at all.

Mogkan adjusted his long braid, flicking his dark hair behind him and brushing down his uniform with an amused huff. “Some would say your ability to resist magic makes  _ you  _ a magician Valek.”

Yelena tried to push herself up, desperate to just return to her room and hide in the dark. She had been so defenceless, unable to stop Mogkan from harming her. She was supposed to be learning how to defend herself from attacks, and yet at the first opportunity, she had been immediately reduced to a helpless mess. She had almost  _ died _ .

Valek and Mogkan were still talking, snapping at one another but Yelena was struggling to focus. Her head was pounding and her throat was agonisingly painful. Perhaps Mummy Medic could give her something to fix it. She tried to rise again but her arms collapsed and she slammed back down onto the ground.

“How about I kill you right now?” She heard Valek step closer and then cried out as agonising pain stabbed at her abdomen. The pain was relentless and it felt like someone had stuck a hot red poker into her. Valek took another step and the pain worsened, searing pain flashing up her back. It hurt so much. She was shaking with the pain and her stomach was heaving. 

“Any closer and she’ll be a corpse.”

Valek stayed where he was, glancing at Yelena. She could barely see his face through the tears of anguish but she knew he wouldn’t be showing any emotion. Even if he cared enough to feel some panic and remorse over her situation, he wouldn’t show it and give the game away. 

“Well, now. That’s interesting. The old Valek really wouldn’t have cared if I killed his food taster. Yelena, my child, I just realised how incredibly useful you are.”

The pain worsened and she cried out in complete agony. It hurt so much that she wouldn’t have cared if he had died there and then. Even if she hadn’t been able to say goodbye to anyone. To the family that she had found here. To Janco. The last thing she saw before she passed out was a glimpse of Mogkan’s back as he walked away, unharmed and free.

\---

Janco was lying on his bed when they got the message, his arms behind his head as he stared up at the peeling paint on the ceiling. He was on his own and was enjoying the peace and quiet when the door slammed open and Ari burst in.

“We need to get to Valek’s office immediately.”

Janco turned to look at his friend and sighed loudly. “And  _ why  _ would I want to do that? I’m resting. It’s my break time. I don’t want to go and talk to him.” He yelped as Ari grabbed him by the arm and dragged him off the bed, stumbling to regain his footing and follow his friend. “Seriously Ari. What’s the rush? We never rush. If we start now, they’ll start to expect it.”

“It’s Yelena.” His heart dropped and instantly he stopped fighting his friend.

“What’s happened. Is she okay?” His voice broke slightly on the last word and he clutched at Ari’s arm. “Please. She’s okay, isn’t she?”

Ari nodded. “She’s okay. She’s resting in her room at the moment. We need to go to Valek’s office though if you want more details. That’s all I know.”

Janco nodded and the two of them sped across the castle courtyard to the main doors where they were allowed inside by the guards standing patiently outside. They hurried down the corridors towards Valek’s suite and after announcing themselves to the guards outside, and waiting impatiently for one of the guards to tell Valek, they were called inside. Valek was standing behind his desk, his face lined with exhaustion and a wary look on his face. He glanced at Janco who was glancing in the direction of the bedrooms.

“She’s okay Janco. You can relax.”

“I want to see her.”

“She’s sleeping. You can see her later when she’s had some rest.”

Janco was about to complain when Ari put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. “Janco. She’s in safe hands. Just let her rest.”

Reluctantly Janco nodded and both Ari and Valek seemed to relax slightly. “Please, take a seat.” Valek gestured to the chairs nearest to them, and whilst they sat down, he took his own seat on the opposite side of the desk. Janco was on the edge of his seat, tapping his foot against the floor as he impatiently waited for Valek to give them the details.

“It turns out our friend, the Advisor Mogkan, is a magician.”

Ari let out a startled grunt and frowned. “That’s illegal here in Ixia. I assume you’ve got him locked down in the dungeons awaiting execution. Did General Brazell know?”

“He attacked Yelena, didn’t he?” Janco asked, and Valek turned to him with a grim expression.

“Yes. He used her as leverage to walk away. I tried to capture him but he used his magic to try and kill her, forcing me to remain where I was whilst he left. She passed out from the pain, but apart from a bad headache, I doubt she’ll have any lasting symptoms.”

“What did he do to her?” Janco asked quietly, his hands fisted on his lap.

“He tried to suffocate her. I arrived on the scene to find her on the floor, quickly losing consciousness as the bastard held her hand, watching her as she died. I attacked him and it obviously broke the connection because she was able to breathe again. He then caused her to be in excruciating pain, with the pain worsening the closer I got to her.”

“I’m going to kill him.” Janco growled and stood up. Ari immediately grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back down.

“Don’t do anything stupid Janco. We don’t know whether Mogkan can still hurt her from a distance. What if you attacked and he killed Yelena out of spite to stop you?”

Janco’s eyes narrowed and his shoulders shook with anger, but he remained in his seat. He hadn’t been there. She had been in danger, in trouble, and he hadn’t been there to protect her. She had had to be rescued by  _ Valek _ . He glanced back up at his boss, who was studying him with careful eyes. Was he worried that Janco would leg it out of the room and go and kill Mogkan. Oh, he wanted to. He wanted to make that man suffer so much that he didn’t remember what it felt like to not be in pain. He wanted to make him cry like a child looking for his mother. But he wouldn’t. Not if it put Yelena in danger. She was his priority. 

“So what are we going to do?” Ari asked, leaning forward in his seat. He was clearly furious as well, enraged that anyone would dare harm Yelena, whom he saw as a younger sister. Valek nodded to himself a couple of times before picking up two pieces of paper from his desk and handing them to the duo. Official orders.

“You’re to be assigned as her bodyguards. Stay with her at all times. You’re excused from all of your other duties, I’ll find someone else to cover you. I want you to always be in the same room as her, from the minute you meet her here in the morning until the moment you drop her off in the evening. I trust that this won’t be a problem?”

They shook their heads and folded the orders, slipping them into their jacket pockets. Valek turned to Janco. “I know you don’t think much of me, and I know that you think that I’m only doing this because I don’t want to train a new taster. Whilst that is partially true, I also care about Yelena because she’s one of the smartest and kindest people that I’ve met. I don’t know anyone else who would have the intelligence to pull that tree trick during the training exercise, and I’ve certainly never seen you two let someone into your lives like you have with her. Especially not giving up hours of your day, every day, to train them in self-defence tactics. So please, don’t think I don’t care about her, because I do. And I am  _ trying  _ to keep her alive.”

He aimed that last comment at Janco who glanced down at his hands. Valek had found her, after all, and saved her. He had to give him credit for that.

“Maybe I was wrong. But that doesn’t mean I’m letting you off the hook. We may be protecting her during the day, but you’re in charge at night when she’s in your suite.”

Valek nodded. “Don’t worry about that. She’ll be in good hands.”

Narrowing his eyes, Janco stood and after a moment Ari rose too. “We’ll be waiting around the area. Send someone to find us when she wakes up. I still want to see her.”

Valek nodded. “Will do.”

The two men stared at one another for a moment, brown eyes staring intently at sapphire eyes. A silent promise passed between them, to protect Yelena no matter what. Satisfied that Valek would do his best to keep her safe, Janco nodded and strode out of the suite, closely followed by Ari shot Valek a warning glare with narrowed eyes, before following Janco outside. Valek sighed and slumped back into his seat. What a pair. 


	13. Chapter 13

It was dark. Yelena tried blinking a couple of times, trying to work out why everything was dark but nothing changed. Something heavy was pressing down on her forehead and she started to panic. Had Mogkan somehow captured her again? She sat up, panicking, her breath coming out in short, sharp gasps.

“It’s all right.”

That voice. It sounded familiar but she couldn’t quite place it. Hands moved to her shoulders and tried to push her down, but she resisted, pulling what she discovered was a wet cloth off of her face. When she realised that it was Valek trying to push her back down, she let him guide her back onto the mattress, and she lay there for a moment blinking in the bright light. She realised that she was in her bedroom, surrounded by familiar furniture. He held a cup in his hand and he passed it to her to drink, watching as she took a sip and cringed at the medicinal taste. When she was finished, he took it from her and placed it on her bedside table.

Giving her one more look over, he nodded to himself and turned to leave. “Rest.”

“Valek, why didn’t you kill Mogkan?” Yelena asked, turning her head to watch him as he paused. There was a pause before he answered, tilting his head.

“A tactical manoeuvre. Mogkan would have killed you before I could finish him. You’re the key to too many puzzles. I need you.”

He finished his journey to the door in a couple of quick strides and paused at the threshold. “I’ve reported Mogkan to the Commander but he was...”

Valek paused and shook his head with frustration. Even in her slightly hazy state, Yelena realised that something was wrong with the Commander. Did this have to do with what had happened when she had tried to taste his food earlier? 

“... Unconcerned, so I’ll be guarding the Commander until Brazell and Mogkan leave. I’ve reassigned Ari and Janco as your personal bodyguards. Don’t leave the suite without them. And stop eating Criollo. I’ll taste the Commander’s Criollo. I want to see if anything happens to you.” Without another word, Valek strode through the door and pulled it shut behind him, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Ari and Janco as her personal bodyguards? She was relieved that he had chosen people she knew to protect her this time, instead of relying on his other soldiers who were little more than nameless faces to her. She trusted Ari and Janco. It would be a good excuse to spend more time with them. She could get them to give her more lessons, on fighting tactics and lock picking, taking full advantage of their round-the-clock presence. She smiled at the thought of spending more time with the two of them, of spending more time with Janco. Funny that something good should come out of something bad.

She was just dozing back off to sleep when there was a quiet knock on the door and she propped herself up on her elbows. Was Valek back to say something? She called them in and was surprised to see Janco stick his head around the door. He grinned when he saw her and hurried into the room, shutting the door behind him. He grabbed the chair from the desk, pulling it over to the desk and sat on it backwards, resting his folded arms on the back of the chair.

“How are you?” Worry flashed in his eyes and she gave him an encouraging shake of her head, trying to push herself up into a sitting position. When he saw that she was struggling, he leapt out of his chair and hurried to help her. Carefully resting his hand on her back to support her, he moved her cushion to provide a more comfortable padding and helped her to move upwards and sit against it. He only returned to his chair once he was satisfied that she was okay.  
“I’m okay. I’m alive,” Yelena let out a bitter laugh but stopped when she saw the anger flash in Janco’s eyes. “It’s fine though. I’ve just got a slight headache and a sore throat. Nothing a little bit of sleep can’t fix.”

“I should have been there.” Janco fisted his hands and she shook her head, huffing a laugh.

“How could you have possibly known. You were busy training, doing your job, and I was supposed to be just tasting the Commander’s food. You would have had to realise that something had gone wrong.”

“I should have realised that there was something strange about Mogkan though, apart from the fact that he’s a complete creep. I should have realised that he was a magician.”

“Janco! Stop beating yourself up about it. None of us realised, not even Valek, and he’s supposed to be the best at these sorts of things. You’re torturing yourself over things which firstly, can’t be changed, and secondly weren’t your fault in the slightest. Just relax. You’ve got some busy days ahead of you know, as my bodyguard.”

She grinned and he smirked. “Oh yeah? What do you intend to have me do? I’m your bodyguard remember, not your personal servant.”

“Oh, I know. But now that you’ll be around nearly all the time, we’ll have plenty of time to continue training and learning how to pick locks.”

He looked mildly disappointed but then laughed. “I reckon this was all just some excuse to spend more time with me. How much did you pay Mogkan to  _ attack  _ you?”

She laughed, feigning indignation. “How dare you suggest such a thing. Why would I ever want to spend _ extra  _ time with you? A couple of hours a day is more than enough.”

“You say that now but when this is all over, and I’m no longer with you all the time, you’ll miss me.”

“No, I’ll miss Ari. I won’t miss the annoying fly that kept buzzing around me and telling bad jokes.”

“You would choose Ari over me?” Janco gasped and pouted.

Yelena pretended to think about it. “Well, he is a better catch, you’ve got to admit.” She laughed as Janco spluttered, his eyebrows disappearing up his forehead as he considered his friend.

“What’s he got that I haven’t?”

“Well for a start, he’s taller than you are. And then he’s also more … muscly. I’m sure he’s stronger than you. And he’s also far less annoying. And he’s got better hair. Oh, and two ears.”

“You wound me. You really are a cold-hearted tree monster Yelena.” He huffed, and looked away, pouting and scowling. She grinned, her smile only widening as he couldn’t hold the posture any longer and a grin spread across his own face.

“Then again, Ari isn’t  _ nearly  _ as good at making me laugh. And he certainly doesn’t have the marvellous goatee that you do.”

Janco preened, stroking his goatee and posing like some of the old statues that lined a few of the corridors in the castle. Yelena snorted and he relaxed again, smiling at her. She maintained his eye-contact, captivated by the intensity in his eyes, breaking it only when there was a loud knock on the door. She jerked back, realising that she had been leaning closer to Janco, just as the door swung open and Valek strode in with crossed arms.

“Right Janco, out.” He shook his head when Janco turned and pouted at him. “I told you that it should be a  _ brief  _ visit. Hurry up and finish up. I need you to go and fetch Ari so that you can start your guard duties. You’ll be positioned outside of the suite, to begin with.”

Janco huffed and slowly got off the chair, slipping it back under the desk and turning back to Yelena with a sideways smile, his eyes glinting with amusement. “See you later, tree monster.”

“If you weren’t so short, then you’d have it all.” Yelena grinned and Janco snorted, turning and shaking his head as he left. Valek watched him leave and then turned back with Yelena with a small frown. After checking that she didn’t need anything else, he told her to get more rest and left the room, shutting the door behind him again. Yelena just smiled as she shuffled back down into her bed and shut her eyes. Maybe this wouldn’t be bad at all. With Janco around, she could almost forget everything that was going wrong around her. 


	14. Chapter 14

Several days had passed since the incident with Mogkan, and Janco had been on high alert for any more threats to Yelena. The news that the Sitian leader was a master magician, one that had already tried to kill Yelena, didn’t exactly help lift the weight on his shoulders. He and Ari had been at her side constantly, whether it was simply escorting her to and from the Commander’s office to taste his food or training her in a variety of fighting techniques. It was tiring work, especially as she seemed to take glee in pushing them to their limits, but he couldn’t complain. It was extra time that he got to spend with her. He found himself bounding out of bed at the crack of dawn, dressed and out of the door before a bleary-eyed Ari even had a chance to process what was going on, and racing across the courtyard and through the corridors so that he could be outside of Valek’s suite before anyone had a chance to emerge. Valek had seemed surprised by his determination, stepping out of his suite each morning and giving Janco a surprised glance before shaking his head and continuing off down the corridor without another word.

Valek had excused them several hours ago to go and get ready for the feast, and so he was now standing in his room with Ari getting changed into their dress uniform. He smirked as he remembered Yelena, admittedly drunk, asking about it. It was uncomfortable but he knew it made him look good, and he turned in the mirror to make sure that everything was in order.

“Stop preening, Janco. You look ridiculous.”

Ari wasn’t even looking, he was perched on the side of his bed with his back to Janco as he pulled on his boots, but Janco still stuck his tongue out at his friend.

“I don’t look ridiculous. I look amazing. You’re just jealous because Dilana couldn’t work out how to make a uniform that didn’t make you look like a lump of coal.”

Ari just snorted and shook his head, finishing adjusting his boot and standing it up with a resigned sigh. “Are you ready? Or are you going to stand there for another hour admiring yourself?”

Janco huffed and together they left the room, making their way over to the dining room for the feast. They both admired the room in awe as they stepped inside, taking in the crimson and black drapes that had been hung along the walls, and the red and gold streamers sparkling from high above them on the ceiling. One one side of the room, there was an elevated platform with a long table on it, most likely for the Commander, Valek and the Southern delegation.

Smaller round tables were scattered around the edge of the room and someone shuffled up to them to inform them that they were located on the table closest to them. They took their seats and watched as other captains and high-ranking officers streamed into the hall and took their places. A twelve-piece band took up the corner of the room, much to Janco’s surprise. He didn’t think that the Commander would have allowed music given that he considered it a waste of time. Eventually the Commander entered the room and everyone went silent, watching as he climbed the steps at one end of the platform to take his position at the centre of the table. He was closely followed by Valek and then the Sitian delegation, the master magician leading. 

Like the rest of the room, the Sitians wore glittering formal robes that seemed to be made from every colour imaginable. Janco had to stop himself from staring, enraptured by the variety of colours, some of which he had never seen before. It turned out after living in the same district for many years, red and black became very boring. Ari nudged Janco and he followed his friend’s gaze to see a familiar figure slip behind the staging, her long hair tied neatly behind her in a plait, barely visible against her dark uniform. He shifted, uncomfortable. Whilst he was glad that she was here, he would never be sad to see her, it also brought back the harsh reality of her job. She was, foremost and always, the Commander’s poison taster - and there would always be a need for one. Sure, he was reminded of it every time she had to stop training to taste his food, but that was different. The chances of someone poisoning the Commander’s potatoes for supper were slim compared to the meals being served in the presence of the Sitian delegation. There were too many unknowns. He swallowed deeply and returned his attention back to the Commander who was giving a short welcoming speech. It was short and to the point, and soon servants were streaming into the room carrying platters of steaming food. The room smelt amazing. 

He watched carefully how every course was brought to the high-table first, before being served to the rest of the room. Each of the Commander’s plates and glasses would be passed backwards before being returned to him once it had been tasted. He held his breath each time, braced in-case something went wrong. However, everything went smoothly and each time the Commander would simply take back his plate and start to carefully cut into the food in-front of him. Each of the courses were amazing and Janco was soon distracted by the varieties of smells and tastes that he was presented with, savouring each mouthful. Feasts like this were rare occurrences, and he was damned if he was going to waste a single minute of it.

Eventually the servants cleared the meal from the tables and Janco watched with curiosity as they extinguished half of the lanterns, changing the tone in the room. The shadows cast from the remaining lanterns seemed taller and flickered across the room in the yellow glow that the lights cast. The band quickened the tempo and Ari had to grab his glass before it toppled over, the pulsating rhythm vibrating through everything. The doors slammed open and costumed fire dancers span into the room, holding their blazing staffs high above them. He watched entranced as they span around the room, prancing and whirling to the beat of the music. It was beautiful. Their gracefulness and flexibility reminded him of Yelena and he wondered whether she would be able to dance like them. The idea of Yelena brandishing flaming staffs made him snigger and he bo staffed his head as he tried to stop it from turning into full-fledged laughter. Some of the others at the table shot him glares but he didn’t care. Ari elbowed him and he looked up as the dancers slowed to a stop and everyone started clapping loudly. Even the Commander looked enthralled by the dancers.

Once they had left, Janco stilled as the master magician rose from her chair and offered a toast, gesturing to a glass of the Sitian cognac they had brought as a gift. It was supposed to be their finest. She carefully poured a glass for the Commander and herself and waited patiently as the glass was passed backwards to Yelena. Janco couldn’t quite see her, but frowned as Valek shot forwards and knocked the other two glasses on the table over. He quickly swapped the bottle of cognac for another and was apologising for being so clumsy when Ari grabbed Janco’s arm tightly. He had gone pale and was pulling him out of his seat.

“Yelena’s collapsed.”

Janco’s heart skipped a beat and he felt sick. No. That explained the trick Valek had just pulled, he had been replacing the tainted glasses with clean ones. Taking advantage of everyone being distracted by Valek and now Irys who was giving her speech, they hurried around the edge of the room and behind the platform to where Yelena was lying on the floor. One of the servants was crouched beside her, looking worried and when he spotted Ari and Janco running towards him he quickly told them what had happened. She had been poisoned with My Love.

Janco froze as he stared at Yelena writhing on the floor, unable to move or do anything. When Ari realised that he wasn’t going to do anything, he quickly bent down and picked Yelena up himself, cradling her in his arms.

“Come _on_ , Janco. Focus and help me get her out of here.”

He blinked a couple of times and forced himself to focus on the task at hand. His heart was racing and he kept trying to tell himself that everything was going to be okay. She had survived My Love before, Yelena had told him once during their training sessions. He had been quizzing her on her poison tasting training and had been appalled to hear that one of the first things Valek had tried on her was the My Love. It seemed brutal, giving her the strongest of the poisons to begin with, especially after she had just left the dungeons. But she had survived that, hadn’t she? And she had been weaker then, so surely she was more likely to survive this one? And didn’t you build up immunity from having tried a poison before?

He helped Ari to slip unnoticed around the back of the room, and opening one of the side doors quietly, they hurried out of the dining hall quietly, and down the corridors towards her room. She had started murmuring something but he couldn’t make out what she was saying. They ran to Valek’s suites and the guards, startled at first to see her limp in Ari’s arms, quickly opened the doors and let them take her to her room. The servant who had been in the dining hall with them had followed, and Ari ordered him to fetch them clothes and water. The servant brushed past Janco as he watched helplessly, unable to do anything as Ari leant forwards and placed her carefully on her bed. She was sweating heavily, her hair sticking to her face and Ari brushed it out of her face. Watching as she writhed on her bed, groaning with pain and letting out sharp cries, her face crumpling with pain, Janco felt rooted to the spot and was unable to move. She was going to die, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

The servant pushed back past him, his arms full of clothes and a large bowl of water and Ari thanked him, soaking one of the clothes and dabbing it to Yelena’s forehead.

“Janco. Come over here and hold this.” Ari gestured for Janco but Janco just shook his head, shaking slightly. This couldn’t be happening. There was a slight ringing in his ears and everything seemed hazy. She was in so much pain. He should have been there to stop it. He should know how to help her. Perhaps there was an antidote. Perhaps she didn’t need to suffer like this.

“Janco!” Ari yelled and shook his head as he realised his friend wasn’t going to move. Janco watched numbly as Ari stood up and grabbed him by the shoulders, marching him out of the room. “If you’re just going to get in the way, you need to stand out here.”

That snapped him out of his haze a little and he frowned, shaking his head. “No. I need to be there for her. She would want me to be there.”

“She’s unconscious. She’s not going to know one way or another. At the moment we just need to make sure she makes it through the night, something which I can’t do if you’re standing next to her like a statue, getting in the way.”

He turned to return to her room and Janco reached out, grabbing his arm with a frantic look on his face. “ _ Please _ . I can’t lose her. Not now.”

Pity and pain flashed across Ari’s face and he shook his head, resting his hand on his friend’s as he gave him a meaningful look. “Don’t worry. I’ll look after her. Stay out here, do something to keep you busy, and I’ll give you updates. If anything changes, you’ll be the first to know.”

He turned and disappeared back into her bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Janco stared at the door for a few moments before turning and leaning against the wall nearby, sliding down until he was crouched on the floor and buried his head in his knees. He folded his arms over his head as if he could block everything out. Stop everything from happening. Pretend that everything was okay still.

\---

She was burning up. Ari dipped the cloth back into the bowl and pressed it against her forehead again, taking little comfort in the fact that she momentarily stopped writhing. He had tied her hair back in a tight knot, desperately trying to keep it out of the way every time she started heaving and throwing up again. The servant had been running back and forth between the washrooms and the bedroom, bringing him empty buckets and taking them away to either empty them or get more cold water. And to make matters worse, by being here for Yelena, he couldn’t be out there with Janco where he probably should be. Worry that Janco would do something stupid lurked beneath his worry for Yelena, and he had already asked the servant to keep him informed as to what Janco was doing everytime he passed him. Apparently Janco had spent the last few hours just collapsed in the corridor, barely moving.

“No.  _ Please _ , no.” Yelena moaned and he jerked. She wasn’t conscious though, and he wiped at her forehead again, taking one of her hands in his and holding it tightly.

“It’s okay Yelena. It’s Ari. I’m here. You’re going to be fine.” he murmured, even if he wasn’t sure whether he was trying to comfort her or himself. He pushed himself up from the floor, groaning slightly as his muscled complained at having been squatting for hours on end, and was about to leave the room to call for the servant when she spoke up again and he froze.

“No Reyad.  _ Please.  _ Don’t!”

His heart raced and he turned back to her slowly. They had never mentioned Reyad before. She had never mentioned it and so none of them had. They all wondered of course, why she had felt the need to murder the son of the person who had raised her from a young child, giving her an education and protection. He had been so generous and yet she had repaid it by murdering Reyad. There must have been some reason that she did it, and he was fairly sure that he wasn’t going to like it.

“I’m sorry. Please, don’t!” she cried out again, writhing on the bed and thrashing her arms about, as if trying to hit something, or someone Ari realised, away. He returned to her bedside again and put his hands on her arms, trying to calm her. However she grew more frantic and struggled against him. Tears were running down her face and her cheeks were flushed. Her cries growing more frantic.

“Let go. Please. Let me go. Don’t. Please!”

She screamed out and he jerked back, heart racing faster now. His hands were shaking and he shook his head, trying to clear it. What had Reyad  _ done _ ? She was sobbing, shaking as she continued to thrash and scream.

“No! I’m sorry! I can’t do it! Don’t hurt them,  _ please _ . Don’t hurt me.” She trailed off as she curled up, sobbing. Each cry shattered through Ari and stared at her hopelessly. He had no idea what she had gone through, but he suspected that the fact that she was still standing here today was a miracle. Anger raged through him as he thought of Reyad. He had seen him from afar once, when Brazell had brought him to the castle to meet with the Commander, and Ari hadn’t thought much of him. He had seemed arrogant, much like his father, and didn’t seem to care about what was going on around him. He had got drunk that evening and had been seen cavorting around with a number of the female servants, taking them back to the suite he had been assigned. What had he done to Yelena though? One answer rang clear in his mind and he fisted his hands. How  _ could  _ he even lay a finger on her? What had she done to deserve such atrocities? He was glad that Reyad was dead. He deserved to be. If he was still alive, there would be little anyone could have done to stop him murdering the bastard himself. 

He returned to the side of the bed and carefully put the damp cloth on her forehead again, stroking her hair as he did so and making soothing noises. “It’s me. Ari. You’re safe, don’t worry. He can’t hurt you anymore. No-one can.”

\---

Valek hurried down the corridor towards his suite, dreading what he would find. He hadn’t been able to go with them after she had collapsed as he had had to remain there to keep up appearances, but he had spent the whole time worrying. Realistically he shouldn’t be, she had taken My Love before and had survived, and that had been after she had been in the dungeons for a year and her body had been weak. She was healthier now. Surviving the My Love shouldn’t be a problem. But he didn’t know how much she had ingested. What dosage had she taken? Yes, she was the poison taster and this was her job, and reason for being, but it was so much easier when he resented or hated the poison taster. Sure, he didn’t know why she had killed Reyad but did she really deserve to have to go through this? Her death wouldn’t just impact him, it would impact Janco and Ari badly. Ari would have what felt like a sister to him, and Janco … well Janco would have lost the only person Valek had ever seen him truly care about. It would break him.

The guards opened the doors for him as soon as they saw him, and he strode through, heading straight for the bedrooms. He came to an abrupt halt when he saw a crumpled figure on the floor and realised with some alarm that it was Janco.

“Janco?” he asked, waiting patiently as Janco unfolded his arms and looked up at him. His eyes were red and he had no colour in his face. He looked like death warmed up. “What are you doing out here?”

Janco tried to speak and no words came out, so he cleared his throat a couple of times and spoke, his voice hoarse. “Ari won’t let me inside.”

Valek shook his head and held out a hand, helping Janco up off the floor. He put a hand on Janco’s shoulder, trying to comfort him but was shocked when Janco jerked and pulled away.

“She needs the antidote. Where is it?”

Valek shook his head. “There isn’t one, Janco. She just has to get through this herself. But don’t worry, she’s strong en-”

“There isn’t one? Or are you just withholding it from her? You want her to die.”

“What? Of course not, Janco. Look, you’re stressed and worried-”

Janco interrupted again, raising his voice. “No! You could help her but you just don’t want to. You want her to suffer. You think she deserves it because she killed him.”

He lashed out and hit Valek in the chest. Valek didn’t even flinch, but rather just stood there and didn’t try to defend himself. Janco was distressed and wouldn’t listen to reason. There was nothing he could do to help him, except let him ride the anger out. Again and again, Janco lashed at him. It hurt but Valek refused to move or stop him. Whatever he needed. Eventually the blows got weaker and he dropped his arms to the side, hanging his head and shaking with choked breaths. Valek studied him carefully, before putting his arm back on his friend’s shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze. This time Janco let his arm remain there.

“You know I want to help her, Janco. But honestly, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll go and see if I can find anything to help with her symptoms, but she’s just got to push through the pain and the fever. She’ll be fine once she’s on the other side.”

Janco nodded and Valek tilted his head slightly as he studied the Captain. “How about you go to the medic and get me a couple of things.” He listed a few herbs and Janco nodded slowly, mouthing them as he tried to commit them to memory. “Come back with those and I can help ease her pain.”

He gave Janco another squeeze on the shoulder and watched as he stumbled off down the hall, disappearing around the corner. The poor guy. The only part of this which he could be grateful for, the only silver lining, was the fact that she had saved the Commander. His heart ached at the thought of what could have happened. If she hadn’t tasted the food before Ambrose and they had traded positions. He couldn’t bear the thought of Ambrose lying in a bed, writhing with pain. He was strong, but would he be able to withstand such a dose? Yelena was lucky that she hadn’t swallowed. If she had, she would likely be dead.

He continued into her bedroom, pausing as he crossed the threshold. Ari was knelt beside her bed, holding a damp cloth on her forehead as she continued to writhe in pain. The room smelt of vomit and the tired-looking servant who brushed past him barely gave him a second look as he swapped the bucket of water with a new one.

“Janco’s bringing me some ingredients that I should be able to use to stop the nausea and reduce her pain.” 

Ari didn’t even turn to look at him, but continued dabbing at her forehead and brushing the damp hair out of her face. It looked like her hair had been in a plait, but it had come loose and was sticking to her damp skin and pillow. “I don’t think it’s the physical symptoms that are bringing her pain. I think her memories are bringing her more pain.”

Valek frowned as he tried to understand Ari’s words, trying to understand the lethal tone that lay beneath them. He was furious. But about what? What was Yelena remembering that was so bad? Her time in the dungeons?

“My Love does have that effect on some people. It breaks down mental barriers that they have in place, letting all the bad memories flood back. It’s believed that some people die from just experiencing those memories again, rather than the physical symptoms themselves.”

Ari didn’t reply, and Valek moved closer to have a look at her. He carefully took her wrist and measured her pulse. “She’s almost out of danger. She’s strong, Ari. You don’t need to worry. She’ll be fine.”

Still, no reply. “Get some sleep. I’ll take over. I’ll have some of the female servants help clean her up and replace the bedding so that she’ll be more comfortable.”

He put a hand on Ari’s shoulder and Ari froze temporarily. He then relaxed, however, and nodded a couple of times. Standing up, he turned and faced Valek with a pained expression.

“Look after her, please. She’s been through too much.”

Without elaborating any further, he left the room, leaving Valek standing there just staring at the young woman who had impacted all of their lives, much to everyone’s surprise. 

\---

Janco was walking back at a fast pace, his arms full of herbs and other varying pieces of equipment that Medic Mummy had thrust at him when he almost ran into Ari who was stalking down the corridor. His face was dark with anger and it startled Janco to see his normally calm friend so different. His heart skipped a beat as he panicked. Had something happened to Yelena? But would Ari be angry if something had happened, or would he just be sad? 

"What's wrong?" 

Ari strode past him but then paused, blinking a couple of times and taking a few steps backwards so that he could see his friend again. He shook his head, running his paw through his closely shorn hair and just gave Janco a small smile that didn't go anywhere near his eyes. 

"It's nothing. I'm just heading back to the barracks to get some sleep. Valek has taken over looking after her." 

He was about to continue when Janco lunged and grabbed him by the arm, a few of the herbs falling to the ground. He didn't move to pick them up though, he just let them stay there and instead stared his friend in the eyes.

"Don't try to brush me off like that. What's got you so angry. You're almost shaking. Whatever is it? Did Valek do something?" 

Perhaps Ari was angry at being forced out of the room and told to get some sleep. It was unlikely that he had left of his own accord.

"No, it wasn't him. Honestly, it's nothing. It's just something someone said. Doesn't matter."

"Something someone said? Usually you're immune to what people say to you. You never get upset or angry. If it wasn't Valek, who was it?" He paused for a moment, pondering. "Did Yelena say something coherent?" 

His heart raced. If she was talking coherently then maybe that was good! Maybe it meant she was waking up. Ari's face darkened further and he tried to break away from Janco's grip. Ignoring his friend's struggle, Janco just held on tighter, looking hopeful. 

"But that's good, right? It means she's getting better doesn't it? It means that she's going to be okay." 

"Yes probably. Let me go Janco, I want to go to bed and I'm done discussing this."

Janco didn't let go. What could she have said that had upset and angered Ari so much? She couldn't have insulted him, at least not to such an extent that he was actually angry, surely not? 

"What did she say? Just tell me why you're so angry."

Ari pulled away, scowling and strode off down the hall. Janco dumped all of the stuff in his arms on the floor and hurried after him. "Why won't you tell me?" 

Ari didn't answer and Janco threw his hands up in exasperation. "Dammit Ari, just speak to me! Tell me what she said." His voice was raised now and he reached to grab Ari by the arm, jumping when his friend span around and slapped his hand out of the way. 

"Just let it go!" Ari yelled, his eyes flashing with anger and his hands fisted by his sides. "I'm not going to tell you so shut up and stop bothering me!" 

Janco just stood there, stunned. Ari had never yelled at him like this before. In fact, he didn't think Ari had ever raised his voice at him. He blinked a couple of times, trying to process what had happened, and then put his palms out in front of him and backed away. 

"Okay sorry." He turned and was making his way back down the hall when he heard a sigh and then footsteps following him. A large hand grabbed his arm and he slowed to a stop, keeping his back turned. 

"Look, Janco, I know I shouldn't have snapped. I'm sorry. I just… I just heard Yelena say some things in her sleep which made me angry and upset me. But it's not for me to tell you about it. I'm sure she'll explain everything at some point, but for now, just be patient."

He bit his lip but turned and nodded slowly. Ari's expression had softened and had instead been replaced by a pained sadness which hurt Janco to see it. Ari thrust his hands into his pockets with an embarrassed smile and Janco realised that he was regretting snapping at him. They almost never fought, they just bickered with one another, and to be honest he wasn't sure how to navigate this strange situation and neither was Ari. 

He reached forwards and put a hand on Ari's arm, offering him a small smile in return. "Hey, it's okay. Sorry for pushing. Go get some sleep and I'll look after her."

Ari ran a hand across his face, trying to muffle his yawn, and then nodded. He turned around and disappeared off down the corridor. Janco hurried to collect the stuff he had put on the floor and returned to Valek's suite.

\---

Janco sat in the chair as he watched Valek lift Yelena's head carefully and help her drink from a small cup. The room smelt of herbs with a strange medicinal taste. Her bedding had been changed and someone had redone her plait. Had Valek done that? Her symptoms seemed to have improved since Valek first gave her the first drink and he was now giving her the third dosage now that several hours had passed. 

"This should be enough to tide her over until I come back in the morning. There are buckets there if she gets sick or if her fever returns. Just keep an eye on her." 

He turned to Janco who nodded and murmured his acknowledgement. Valek ran a hand through his hair as he stood up, giving her one more look before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. Janco slumped into his chair. Why was it that every time he ended up in a room with her alone, she was always ill or drunk?

She didn't deserve any of this. The candles nearby flickered and cast dancing shadows across the warm room, making him sleepy. He sat up again and took a deep breath. Well, he might as well do something to keep himself awake. 

"I don't know if you can hear me, but it's Janco. You know, that idiot that's teaching you how to pick locks and spends his whole time working out how to impress you. It's only been five hours or so but I already miss you rolling your eyes at me or coming up with witty comebacks." 

"You scared me you know. I couldn't see you but Ari could and when he told me that you had collapsed, it was like everything had stopped. I always knew it was a possibility but I never thought it would  _ actually  _ happen."

"I'm going to kill whoever did this to you. I know they weren't trying to hurt you, but they knew you would be the first to taste. It was probably those Sitians. I might not tell Ari before I do it though. He'll probably be all reasonable and try to stop me. He's too sensible, that oaf."

He paused, considering. "We had a fight, Ari and I, you know? We've never really had one before. He really yelled at me which surprised me. I mean you know how he rarely gets angry and certainly never raises his voice. I pushed him too much though. He said… He said that you had said something which seemed to have upset him and made him angry. Not with you, I don't think. Just at the situation. I don't really know to be honest." He let out a loud sigh and slumped in his chair again.

"I wish I knew what it was. Maybe I could help? 

Again, silence answered him and his heart sank. He wished he could just hear her voice. Anything just to know that she was okay. Because if she wasn’t, who knew what he would do.


	15. Chapter 15

Two days had passed and Janco was curled up in a chair, near her bed, attempting to focus on the book in his hands. He had read the same sentence at least ten times now and he still wasn’t entirely sure what the book was about? Something to do with plants and what tasted best in cooking? He turned it over to study the front cover and raised an eyebrow as he saw it was a book on poisonous mushrooms. Not ideal for cooking. With a small sigh he returned to the page he was on and studied the sentence again. In the dim light of the room, he was struggling a little to stay awake, the lack of sleep also not helping the situation. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t sleep when he tried to. Ari and Valek had both offered to take over from him, Valek admittedly a little less given he had other responsibilities, but even so, Janco had been surprised when his boss had strode into the room offering to watch her for a while. Janco had accepted the offer after a short argument and had even taken the offer of using the spare bedroom in the suite. He had lain there for several hours, desperately trying to clear his mind and sleep but no matter how hard he tried, his mind constantly drifted back to Yelena. Always Yelena.

It had been several days now and she still showed no signs of waking up. At least the fever had almost gone entirely and she was no longer throwing up or writhing in her sleep. That had scared him, if he was honest with himself. That awful feeling of being unable to do anything to help her, to stop the pain. And he still didn’t know what she had been so bothered by. What had upset Ari so much.

“Why, Janco, I didn’t know you could read.”

His heart skipped a beat as her voice broke the silence in the room. It was hoarse and quiet but it was still her. He thrust the book to one side quickly and smiled at her, his heart pounding as he blinked a couple of times. She was awake. “I’m a man of many unknown talents.” He laughed. Being a complete failure at navigating how he felt towards Yelena had to be a talent. “Welcome back.”

She frowned slightly and glanced around the room. “How long have I been out?”

“Two days.” Though it had felt like more. He had completely lost track of time, the only thing keeping him grounded to the outside world being the food that various people had brought to him throughout the days. Although it was more than possible that the chef had decided to start serving stew for breakfast so perhaps not the most accurate time keeper.

“What happened?” Did he tell her all of it? Or did he try and protect her by brushing most of it off?

“After you turned into a madwoman, or why you turned into one?”

Yelena grimaced and he smirked slightly. It felt so good to be able to tease her again. Even if it was a little mean given what she had just been through. Then again, the first thing she had done upon waking up was tease him, so it was only fair.

“After.”

“It’s amazing how fast Valek can move.” Thinking back, he had to admire what Valek had done. Janco had just stood there, barely able to move, and yet Valek had managed to shove her out of sight and switch the bottles without anyone even noticing. Sure, Valek wasn’t head over heels for her, but he still had to have some sort of attachment. Otherwise she wouldn’t still be sleeping in his suite or getting the sort of treatment she was. Valek would have just let all of his previous poison tasters suffer, indeed he had. Which was how she had ended up in the role. Janco quickly explained everything that had happened, glossing over his actions and instead making Ari the hero of the story. Which he had been.

“He’d still be here, but I forced him at knifepoint to get some sleep.”

So what if it had effectively been the other way round. She didn’t need to know that. He could hardly go about telling her how he had attacked Valek because he had been so emotionally distraught over the whole situation. In hindsight, it was a miracle that Valek hadn’t just assassinated him there on the spot. How many people hit Valek repeatedly and yelled at him and got away with it without any consequences. Man, Yelena had really shaken things up around the castle.

She sat up, groaning, and he braced himself in the chair ready to lunge to her assistance if needed. However, apart from just pouring herself a glass of water and gulping it down, she did little else and so he remained in his seat.

“Valek said you would be thirsty. He’s been here a couple of times, but he’s been busy with the Southerners. I can’t believe that witch had the audacity to try and poison the Commander.” And you. When Yelena frowned he realised he had accidentally let slip how angry he was and he was confused when she shook her head.

“She didn’t. Remember? She poured three glasses from the same bottle. Someone else must have poisoned it.”

Janco scowled, still sure that it had been the Southern magicians. You couldn’t trust magicians, one minute you thought they were fine and then the next they were setting you on fire with a simple thought, or transporting you to far off lands filled with sand. He shuddered at the thought.

“Unless she was going for a murder-suicide. A quick death instead of waiting in our dungeon to be hanged.”

“Possibly.” Yelena murmured but she looked uncertain. She looked shattered and to be honest, so did he. A yawn tried to erupt but he muffled it and wiped at his face.

“Valek must agree with you. The treaty discussions are proceeding as if nothing happened.” The yawn finally broke through and through the haze of sleep, he realised that he was now sitting in Yelena’s bedroom. Just the two of them. Alone. Whilst he would normally have welcomed the opportunity with every other girl, he now just felt embarrassed and unsure of what to do. Should he stay? Should he go? She was conscious now and seemed fine, so theoretically there wasn’t any reason for him to stay. No matter how much he might have wanted to. Pushing himself up out of the chair and letting out another yawn he strode over to the bed and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Well, now that you’re coherent again, I’ll get some sleep. It’s another four hours until dawn.” He guided her down so that she was laying back on the bed, and gave her a soft smile. Relief coursed through him. She was going to be okay. Granted, Valek had told him as much several hours ago but he had refused to believe him until she woke up. And now she had. “Get some rest. We’ll be back in the morning.”

He was about to turn and go when he paused. Should he mention what had happened whilst she had been under the effects of the My Love? He knew that as much as Ari would try to act normal when he next saw her, Ari would still be acting slightly off. Whether it was because he was still angry and upset over whatever she had said, or just embarrassed about having heard it. But Janco didn’t want Yelena to think she had done something wrong, and that Ari was angry with her. He knew she wouldn’t ask and would probably just bottle it all up, letting it bother her, and so shouldn’t he put a stop to that potentially happening now?

“Ari said you screamed and raved a lot while he took care of you. In fact, he said that if Reyad was alive today, he’d gut the bastard without a moment’s hesitation. I just thought you might want to know.”

He leaned forwards and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead, not even pausing to think about it. Immediately he regretted the decision and so turned and left very quickly.

When he stepped out into the corridor, letting the door to the suite swing shut behind him, he slammed his hand against his forehead and let out a disgruntled moan. He was such an idiot. Why couldn’t he have just left it at a friendly tap on the shoulder and a wink or something? Something safe. He groaned again and was about to head out back to the barracks when he walked into something solid. Blinking a couple of times he realised a little belatedly that he had walked straight into Valek who was standing waiting patiently, a raised eyebrow.

“Off to get some sleep, finally?” Valek asked, shaking his head. Ari and Valek had both become mother hens whilst Janco had been caring for Yelena. The number of times he had been asked whether he had eaten, or had something to drink, or needed anything.

“Oh yeah. She woke up! She’s going to be okay.”

Valek grinned and rested his hand on Janco’s shoulder, who tried desperately not to flinch. This new found friendship between Ari, Janco and Valek was all a little weird and Janco was still trying to get used to it. Every time Valek reached for him, Janco was certain that Valek had finally become fed up with him and was going to try and assassinate him.

“I told you she would! You can stop worrying now,” He paused, giving Janco a sceptical look. “You will stop, won’t you? I need my Captains to be clear of mind and ready for action at all times.”

Janco nodded uncertainly and Valek shook his head. “Well, I’ve got a couple of things to do but then I’ll go and check on her.” Janco nodded and with a couple of parting words, they went their separate ways.

\--

As Valek made his way back to his suite, he pondered on Janco. The man was clearly smitten with Yelena, but was that going to become a problem? He thought back to when he had originally offered Yelena the role of poison taster. No husband, he had told her. That had somewhat included any relationships as well, even if he hadn’t stated it explicitly. However, that had been before he had come to know her. She wasn’t anything like he had previously imagined. She was so much more determined and intelligent than he had assumed. And she had a way with people. Who would have thought that she would have managed to not only rope Maren and the Power Twins into helping her learn self-defence but also end up with one of them falling completely and utterly in love with her? There was no denying it. It wasn’t just a passing crush, Janco truly cared for her. And Valek suspected that she was beginning to care for him back.

The original provision in their contract about a lack of relationships had been out of worry that she would try and neglect her duties, putting her partner before the Commander, which was entirely out of the question. However, he pondered, it worked quite well in the current situation given that they had both proven separately that they put the Commander before anyone else. Janco was a brilliant soldier with a fast mind and excellent fighting skills, even if he did rely on riling up his opponent. Valek had tested his rigorously in the past, back when he was still unsure of the man’s loyalty having come from such a lawless background, but Janco had passed every test with ease. He had never once been tempted, no matter how hard Valek had tried, to take the bribes and offers made by Valek’s connections in the criminal world. So Valek trusted him entirely. Well, mostly. Janco did have somewhat of a mischievous side that it would be unwise for Valek to ignore. However he doubted it would become a dangerous side unless you counted practical jokes as dangerous. Then again, this was Janco he was thinking about. Who knew what went on in that man’s head. Sometimes he wasn’t even sure Janco knew.

He nodded to the guards as he entered through the door to his suite and after lighting a few of the candles dotted around the room, he made his way to Yelena’s room with a gentle smile on his face. He was relieved that she had woken up, even if he had been certain that she would, there was always that small possibility that something would go wrong. Some unknown complication. It had been tricky, that night when she had collapsed on the floor, not to react. However, it was his job to keep everything running smoothly, and the Commander was his priority, and so he had pulled a simple switching trick with the bottles and the situation had been quickly resolved.

He had heard Janco and Ari behind him as they had carried Yelena out of the room, relieved that she was in good hands. But it pained him that he had been unable to do anything to relieve anyone’s suffering. Usually he wouldn’t have been bothered by a poison taster’s poisoning. It  _ was  _ their job after all. The Commander always came first, he always would. However, with Yelena everything was different. Whilst the Commander still came first, the sense of detachment he usually felt towards the poison taster simply wasn’t there. He cared about her, and what happened to her. It wasn’t romantic in any sense. His heart belonged to another. But he still cared about her, as he did Maren and the Power Twins, and it had bothered him how close they had all come to losing her. Though better her than the Commander, he supposed.

Janco had been a mess, the poor guy. He had never seen him quite so distraught. Not even when Ari had told him that the food hall had run out of food entirely and he was going to have to go hungry for a little while. That moment in the corridor when Janco had been beating at him, pleading and begging for him to do something to save her had hurt him more mentally than physically. Both of them had known that there was little he could do, and yet the desperation of the situation had grown too much and with emotions running high, Janco had lost all control. Who knows what would have happened if she hadn’t woken up.

Resting his hand on the door handle, he knocked several times on the door. Steady raps that echoed in the stone hall. “Yelena? Can I come in?”

There was no reply and he frowned. He knocked and called out again, wondering perhaps if she was just lost in sleep and deaf to his calls. There was still no reply. Huffing, he twisted the door handle and slipped into the room, hand resting near his hip where he kept a concealed knife, should he need one. Since Yelena had come to the castle, the need for such weapons had shot up considerably. She certainly made his job a lot harder. Was she  _ really  _ worth all this effort, he mused to himself, a smirk spreading across his face?

His smile disappeared instantly when he entered an empty room. Alarm spiked through him and he span around. Well, she wasn’t being held hostage anywhere in the room. He darted over to the window and checked it carefully. It was sealed shut, from the inside, just as it had been the last time he had checked it. No signs of it having been opened, let alone forced entry. He strode over to the bed and rested a hand on the bed, tilting his head as he felt a slight warmth from the bed. She had left the bed fairly recently. She must have gone to look for something, or someone, perhaps. He strode to the doors of the suite and scowled at the guards standing either side of the door. When they saw him they both straightened immediately and looked a little panicked.

“When did Yelena leave?” They glanced at one another and then at the floor. “Well? When did she leave?”

“About ten minutes ago, Sir.” One of them muttered.

“And so you’re both here, and she’s alone  _ because _ ?”

They didn’t answer and Valek straightened even further. The guards shrank under his furious gaze. So much for being able to trust these two to protect her from harm. Would they have even noticed if a complete stranger had entered the suite?

“Where did she go?” he demanded, and the guards glanced at each other again.

“I think she mentioned something about food?” One of them murmured and Valek sighed loudly. Of course. She must have woken up and gone off in search of food. He didn’t feel comfortable at the thought of her just wondering the castle on her own though, and especially not hanging around with Rand. Annoyance pulsed through him as he grunted with frustration. Why did she never just use her head? Was it so difficult to just stay somewhere safe, where there wasn’t any danger? It was like trying to look after a small child and no matter how much he taped soft coverings onto sharp corners, she still found something sharp to throw herself at. Of course, out of all the people she had made friends with at the castle, it had to have been Rand. He was the sharpest corner you could find.

Snapping at the guards to go and keep an eye on her without making contact with her, and then report to their Captain for punishment and reassignment, he stormed back into his suite and threw himself onto the couch, waiting for her to come back.

An hour had passed and she still wasn’t back. Did he need to go and look for her himself? He had passed a note to a servant, telling them to take it to the guard’s Captain for reassignment, so at least they would be dealt with. Dawn was approaching and the room was slowly filling with weak grey light, casting long shadows that slowly crawled over the piles of books and bottles. A noise from the main door drew his attention and a familiar lithe figure slipped into the room. So she  _ was  _ alive then. She spotted him immediately, which was something at least, and her shoulders sank as she stiffened, clearly waiting for his reaction.

“Back so soon? Too bad. I was just about to organise a search party for your dead body. What happened when you knocked on the Southerner magician’s door to sacrifice yourself?”

He watched, eyes narrowed, as she sat down into a nearby chair, not saying anything but just watching him as he continued lecturing her, the sarcasm sharp and spiteful. 

“Did they kick you out, thinking you too half-witted to waste their time on?” He continued on, repeatedly making short jabs and only when he could tell that she agreed with him did he stop. He had made his point.

“Are you done?” she asked, and he raised his eyebrows, studying her carefully.

“What? No rebuttal?”

She shook her head and he nodded once. “Then I’m finished.” It seemed that she was learning something at least. He had expected her to argue back with at least a few excuses as to why her actions were understandable. Clearly she was drawing on a blank. Which was reasonable, as her actions had been those of an idiot.

“Good. Since you’re already in a bad mood, I might as well tell you what happened while I was in the kitchen. Actually two things: one bad, one good. Which would you like to hear first?”

His heart sank. Of course there was bad news. This was Yelena, after all. Trouble followed her around like a small puppy nipping at its master’s heels. “The bad. That allows me the hope that the good will balance things out.” Hopefully.

That hope faded somewhat when she explained how she had revealed his undercover operation. His face hardened as she spoke. He couldn’t believe it. All that work down the drain because of her trying to defend his honour. A bitter laugh rose up in his throat but he pushed it back down. It was typical Yelena, to be perfectly honest. In trying to defend others she always managed to mess something up. Everything was always done in the heat of the moment and without any thought as to the bigger picture. Sighing, he leaned back into the couch and kneaded at his temples.

“I hadn’t planned on making arrests till later this month. Better implement my cleanup plan before Rand has a chance to alert Star.” He rubbed at his eyes, pondering on the situation. So much to do. “Still, it might be a benefit. I think Star’s becoming suspicious. She hadn’t been conducting any illicit business in her office. If I bring her in now, I might discover who hired her to poison the Sitian’s bottle.”

“Star? How?”

“She has a Southern assassin in her employ. He would be the only one with the skill and the opportunity. I’m sure the poisoning wasn’t a result of Star’s personal political views. Her organisation would do anything for anybody at the right price. I must find out who would risk so much to compromise the delegation.” Adrenaline rushed through him and he stood up. Yes, this had thrown a spanner in the works, but it had also given him a good opportunity to find out more about who had tried to harm the Commander. And he knew two Captains who would be more than happy to help. He was about to leave to make plans when he remembered the other half of her tale.

“What’s the good news?”

“The mystery beans are an ingredient in making Criollo.” He frowned slightly, but he was also impressed. She had figured out the true purpose of the beans. The Commander had been right to rely on her. How she had discovered their purpose was another matter. Did Rand know? Not that that really mattered now though. The beans had been heading for Brazell’s factory. Why was Brazell lying about the true purpose of his factory?

“Then why did Brazell lie on his permit application? There’s no law against manufacturing a dessert.”

Yelena seemed to ponder the question for a while before frowning as an idea formed in her mind. “Perhaps because the beans are imported from Sitia. That would be illegal; at least until the trade treaty is finalised. Maybe Brazell’s been using other Southern ingredients or equipment as well.”

Valek nodded. It made sense that Brazell would keep everything a secret. As long as no-one found out the true source of his ingredients, he would be able to continue producing his Criollo. Valek wasn’t sure how Brazell planned to keep the ruse up of the fake purpose of the factory. At least Yelena would be able to check it out when she visited. He had argued with the Commander over this trip, demanding to know why the Commander felt the need to visit the new factory. The Commander had brushed him off claiming that it was important for him to see the progress on such an important project. He had ignored all of Valek’s security concerns which had frustrated him immensely. How could Ambrose be so stupid to ignore him, now, just after someone had made an attempt on his life?

Yelena started. “What?”

With a sigh, Valek shifted to look at her better. She had gone a little pale, well, paler than she had been, and her eyes were wide with what appeared to be fear. “The Commander has scheduled a trip to MD–5 when the southerners leave. And where the Commander goes, you go.”

“What about you? You’re going too, aren’t you?” she squeaked and he shook his head. Whilst it was understandable that she didn’t want to visit the factory, being forced to spend time in close proximity to the father of the man she murdered, her reaction seemed a little extreme and it intrigued him.

“No. I’ve been ordered to stay here.” Her eyes widened even further and after giving her a few more details about the trip, she excused herself and headed to her room, shutting the door quickly behind her. He was still seething over the order to stay behind. It was one of the most idiotic orders Ambrose had ever given him and he was, of course, planning to ignore it. It was for the Commander’s best interests. There was no way he was going to let him spend time alone with Brazell and his men, especially with all these recent revelations. He was planning to go along, and keep a  _ very  _ close eye on everything. Especially as he knew a certain Captain who would kill him if anything happened to her. Well, he’d at least  _ attempt  _ to kill him.


	16. Chapter 16

“One, and two, and three, four five. Keep fighting like this and you will die.” Janco sang as he fought with Yelena, slamming his bo staff into hers and pinning her against the wall with a smirk. Her bo staff slipped out of her fingers and clattered to the floor. To make his point, he tapped his staff gently against her temple. It had been an easy win and it concerned him. Usually she put up at least a little bit more of a fight. Was it because of her recent poisoning, or was there something else? Realising that he was too close to her, he stepped back again and leaned on his bo staff as he tilted his head, studying her carefully. She was paler than usual, with dark rings under her eyes. A few locks of hair had fallen out of her braid into her face and he had to resist the urge to reach forwards and push them back behind her ear.

“What’s wrong? You’re rarely this easy to beat.”

She sighed quietly and shrugged. “Too distracted.”

“Then what are we doing here?” Ari asked and then both turned to look at him. He and Maren were standing nearby, having been watching the match, and Ari’s arms were folded in-front of him. Janco glanced back at Yelena and noted how she avoided Ari’s eyes again. Ever since she had learnt that Ari had heard her ravings, she had been acting strange and defensive around him. Should he have not told her?

“Next round, I’ll try harder.” They were both breathing heavily still, although Janco wasn’t sure how much of that was from the fight and how much was from being in such close proximity to her, and so they waited a few more moments before resuming their fight. Yelena turned to face Janco again and he tried to act casual as she studied him. Was she checking him out? No of course not. He probably had something on his face. He was in the middle of subtly trying to wipe at his face when she asked him why he rhymed. Surprised, he turned back to face her.

“It helps me keep my rhythm.” He didn’t know when he had started rhyming in his fights, only that it had become a habit and given that it helped him, it was one he was unlikely to drop anytime soon.

“Don’t the other soldiers give you a hard time about it?” They had when he had started, with the other soldiers giving him strange looks or even just laughing at him. However that had quickly stopped when they saw how it improved his fighting technique.

“Not when I beat them.” he grinned and Yelena chuckled quietly. He was pleased to see a smile back on her face. Picking up her bo staff from the floor and throwing it at her, he lunged to attack and they soon fell back into the satisfying rhythm of a fight. He threw a few more rhymes in her direction and he quickly disarmed her again, tapping her in the chest to signal her defeat. She sighed and he leaned on his bo staff again.

“Now you’re trying too hard. I can see you planning each offensive move. You’re giving yourself away, and I’m there for the block before you even strike.” It had been easy to win that time. She had little tells, such as a small glance in the direction of her attack or the tightening of her hands as she gripped the bo staff tighter before a blow. Knowing these, he was quickly able to block her attacks and disarm her.

He sensed his partner nod. “We drill for a reason. Offensive and defensive moves must be instinctive. Let your mind relax, but stay alert. Block out all distractions. Stay focused on your opponent, but not too focused.”

Janco smiled as Yelena grunted with frustration. “That’s a contradiction.”

“It works.” Ari shrugged.

Taking up a fighting stance, Yelena and Janco faced one another and he swung his bo staff at her. Expecting it to make contact with her side, he was surprised when she quickly raised her bo staff and blocked his bo staff almost before he had even had a chance to swing his own bo staff. She fought back with a series of quick blows and jabs and he found himself being driven backwards. She was winning. Huffing with the effort of trying to win, something which he hadn’t been anticipating doing, he tried to block her blows. However, with a couple of quick swings, she knocked the bo staff out of his hands and it crashed to the floor. With a smirk, she jabbed the end of the bo staff into his chest. However he didn’t mind that she had beaten him, he was relieved to be beaten, to be honest. It meant she was just that bit a little more like her old self.

“Amazing. Did you follow Ari’s advice?” He exclaimed, his grin wide.

She grinned back. “To the letter.”

“Can you do it again?” Ari asked curiously, picking up his bo staff and moving towards her. Yelena shrugged and Ari challenged her to a fight, taking a fighting stance before her. Janco moved to stand beside Maren and the two of them watched as Yelena danced about Ari, graceful as always, gracefully blocking his blows. He was using his strength to an advantage, throwing blows towards her with full force, however she didn’t seem perturbed and instead ducked, threading her bo staff between Ari’s legs and pulling sharply. Not expecting the sudden attack, Ari fell to the ground with a heavy thump and she held the end of the bo staff against his neck with a victorious smirk. Janco let out an impressed whistle.

“Unbelievable.” he murmured and Maren jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

“Stop drooling.” Grabbing her own bo staff, she strode over to take Ari’s place and challenged Yelena to a fight who with a brief look of uncertainty, nodded and accepted the challenge. Watching the two of them fight was always impressive, both of them lithe and fast to the point where they became mere blurs. However, this time Yelena didn’t fall for Maren’s usual trick of fake blows and instead blocked the real jabs. Spinning, Yelena tripped Maren up as she ran towards Yelena and pressed her staff against her neck until Maren conceded the match. This was insane. Even Maren looked impressed, although she tried to cover it with a scowl.

“Damn! When a student starts beating her teacher, it means she doesn’t need her anymore. I’m walking.” With that, she strode from the room and Janco tried to swallow his snort of laughter. Yelena turned to them with a look of mild worry.

“She’s kidding, right?”

Ari waved her concern off, chuckling to himself. “Blow to her ego. She’ll get over it. Unless you start beating her every time you fight.”

Yelena laughed. “Unlikely.”

Huffing, Janco nodded in agreement. “Very.” However, he wasn’t so sure. Yelena had improved leaps and bounds and was at the same level as skilled fighters, despite having only been learning for a relatively short amount of time. Who knew how much more she could improve? A pang of sadness echoed through him as he pondered Maren’s last statement. If Yelena did start consistently beating them, would she still need them? Or would she look elsewhere for help? Would they return to only seeing one another in passing, limited to conversations about the weather or castle gossip?

“That’s enough fighting.” Ari insisted and he suggested to Yelena that she did some katas to cool down before they finished for the day. Janco watched as she nodded and stepped into the centre of the room with her bo staff, rolling her head around and giving her body a quick shake before thrusting the bo staff forwards and pausing for a couple of seconds, holding the pose before shifting quickly into another stance.

“You’re staring.” Ari murmured, nudging him. He was as bad as Maren.

“And you’re distracting me. I’m just watching her.”

“It’s creepy.”

“I’m her teacher. I’m making sure she’s doing it correctly.”

“Pretty sure teachers don’t smile like love-sick fools.”

“Oh shush.” Janco smirked, dragging his attention away from Yelena and turning to face Ari.

“Does she even know?”

“What? That I care for her? Do you really think she would still be here if she did?”

Ari raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“Oh come on. I’m just some soldier that will be in and out of her life before she even realises it. Valek will probably reassign us at some point, or someone will attempt to kill the Commander again.” He let out a bitter laugh. “People like me, we don’t get that kind of gift in our lives. We’ll spend our whole lives alone.”

There was silence and then Ari snorted, grabbing Janco’s shoulder and forcing him to look him in the eye. “Don’t be so stupid. Where has this all come from? The last time we spoke about this, you were basically planning your wedding. And now you’re acting like the fates have spoken out against you and ruined your life. You’re going to end up alone and miserable if you have that attitude!”

Janco scowled. “Easy for you to say.”

Snorting, Ari shoved his friend. “Stop being such a pathetic idiot. Do something nice for her. Take her out for a meal or something. Organise a picnic in here one evening, or take her on a moonlit stroll. At the moment she probably has no idea you even care for her at all, given the way you bully her.”

Janco opened his mouth to argue back but then closed it again. Ari sort of had a point. And the picnic was a nice idea. He could picture it now. He’d fill the room with candles and spread a blanket on the floor. He could steal some food from the kitchens and they would spend the evening talking about everything and nothing.

“When did you become such a romantic?” Janco laughed, shoving Ari back.

“Oh that would be telling.” Ari winked, smiling to himself. “I swear if you mess this all up though, I’ll never forgive you.”

“So you approve?” He knew he had already asked this before, but he was still anxious about his friend’s opinion. It mattered so much to him.

“You’d be chaotic together.”

“But you approve?”

“Oh absolutely.”

\---

Yelena watched as Ari and Janco finished their conversation, blinking a couple of times as if waking from a deep sleep. They hadn’t even realised that Irys had paid her a visit. Whilst they were brilliant teachers, they were pretty useless bodyguards Yelena mused with amusement. Ari turned to look at her with a slight frown.

“Done already? How many katas?”

Yelena just laughed. “Come on, I’m hungry.”

Together the three of them put away their weapons and headed out of the room to the dining room where lunch was being served. They loaded their plates with some bread and chicken, Janco’s becoming a mountain, and sat down at one of the empty benches.

“Why were you so distracted?” Janco asked, tearing apart his bread and chewing on a piece as he watched Yelena move her food around her plate, rearranging the piles but never taking a bite. She glanced around and leaned in closer.

“The Commander is visiting Brazell’s factory and Valek has been ordered to stay behind.” She whispered and Ari and Janco turned to look at one another, worried expressions on their face. They quickly spoke with a series of gestures and expressions before turning back to Yelena.

“Why would the Commander force Valek to stay behind?” Ari asked, a curious expression on his face that Yelena couldn’t quite place. It was almost a strange mix of pity and alarm. Was he beginning to piece the pieces together now that he had heard her rambling whilst under the influence of My Love? Yelena shook her head.

“I had no idea. All I know is that it’s a very reduced security detail to his normal one, and they’re relying mainly on Brazell’s guards.”

Janco slammed his hand down on the table, making Yelena jump slightly. “This is ridiculous. Doesn’t he realise the danger of going alone like this?” His reaction confused him a little, not expecting such an outburst from Janco who had considerably less of a temper than Ari. She wasn’t aware he cared so much about the Commander’s security. He was a Captain of course, and so it was his job, but he seemed unusually passionate about it.

A group of servants moved to sit down beside them and so they quickly changed their conversation to that of the morning runs around the castle, finishing up their plates of food. Yelena watched the two Captains as they ate their food, still mulling over Janco’s reaction to the news. He was busy attacking his plate with a ferocity that could have both been anger or hunger. Maybe both, who knew? 

\---

Ari could feel Janco seething beside him as they ate their food. The man was almost visibly shaking and he was attacking his food so violently Ari thought he was going to shatter the plate. Ari could feel Yelena watching them with a frown. She was clearly confused by the outburst and Ari didn't blame her. He was curious to know how much she was aware of Janco's feelings towards her. The idiot wasn't exactly subtle so  _ surely  _ she knew something.

He did feel uncomfortable though with the thought of her leaving to travel to Brazell’s castle without a friend by her side to look after her. After everything he had heard, he was determined that she shouldn't be left alone anywhere near Brazell for fear of what might happen to her. He wasn't even sure that being the Commander's poison taster would protect her. He probably shouldn't be left anywhere near Brazell either. He was still seething over how Brazell and Reyad could have treated her, could have treated anyone, so cruelly. She had done nothing to deserve such a life and it still amazed him that was still standing after all of that. He admired her.

They finished their meals and parted ways, bidding Yelena good luck on her trip. She gave both of them a tight hug, lingering briefly in Janco's grasp as he hugged her back tightly, his cheeks reddening slightly. Eventually they parted and she headed off down the corridor to return to Valek's suite and the two Captains to the barracks. 

"We can't let her go on her own." Janco insisted and Ari nodded in agreement. "We need to do something."

"But what?" Ari asked, frowning. They wouldn't be able to join the security detail themselves. Yelena had to go, there was no question about that, but how could they make sure someone else was there to protect her.

Janco grabbed his arm, drawing them to a halt. “We need to talk to Valek. He can do something. He  _ must  _ be able to.”

Perhaps he could. Although, surely if he was able to do something, he would have done it already by now? However, to talk to Valek, they needed to find him first which wasn’t an easy task. Not only was the castle expansive, but Valek also had a way of becoming impossible to find. No-one seemed to know where he was when they asked passing servants, and when they did, they all gave contradicting answers. They even asked the guards outside of his suite, but they shook their heads and gruffly told them that Valek hadn’t been seen for several hours, the last time they saw him had been when he had left the suite.

They were heading to the Commander’s suite when they spotted a familiar figure stalking towards them, his face cold and sharp. Servants moved out of the way and Ari had a sudden sense of panic. Did they  _ have  _ to approach him when he was in such a mood? He kicked himself mentally and together they shuffled towards their boss.

“Valek?” Janco asked, a little nervously. Snapping his head towards them, Valek came to an abrupt stop, his sapphire eyes burning as he stared at the Captains.

“What do you want?”

“We need to talk to you. About the, um, trip.” Janco mumbled, trying to keep the conversation vague as they were all aware of the passing servants and soldiers. Valek’s face hardened further and he stalked closer to them, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper.

“How do you know about that?”

“Yelena told us.” Ari interjected, watching his friend shrink under Valek’s intense stare. Valek’s head snapped towards Ari but he held his gaze, despite his heart racing and his head telling him to run. They stood like that for several beats before Valek relaxed and ran his hand over his face.

“Of course she did,” he removed his hand and his eyes narrowed again. “You’ve not mentioned this to anyone else have you?”

They both shook their heads. “We may be stupid, but we’re not suicidal.” Janco offered and Valek raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, instead gesturing for them to follow. They made their way down the corridors towards Valek's suite but turned at the last minute and entered a small room that Ari had never noticed before. It appeared to be a small office, and was barely furnished apart from a few chairs and a table. After locking the door behind them, Valek took one of the chairs and gestured for the others to sit down. 

"Apologies for dragging you in here, but we can't use my office as Yelena is guaranteed to listen to our conversation." Valek muttered and Janco chuckled to himself quietly. She was one of the most inquisitive people Ari knew, she even put Janco to shame, and if there was anything of interest she would be guaranteed to be nearby listening in or even the cause of the commotion.

"Why don't you want her involved?" Ari asked curiously and Valek sighed.

"Because she's bound to try and help and interfere is she knows too much and she'll hinder my plans. She also needs to be as oblivious as possible so Brazell doesn't get suspicious. Especially with Mogkan on the scene."

The Captains nodded. "So what are your plans?" Janco asked, leaning forwards eagerly. 

"You two need to stay here and be on the scene in case anything goes wrong. You'll be my backup. I'm going to follow them, undercover and will be watching from a distance, ready to jump in if anything goes wrong."

Ari shifted in his seat. "Are you sure you don't need either of us to come with you to provide support there?" 

Valek shook his head. "No, I don't. It's important we don't raise too much suspicion, and if we all leave the castle then someone is going to notice and word will make its way back to the Commander. I need you two to carry on your normal activities, training and interacting with the other guards. Try talking to as many people as possible and  _ subtly  _ get information from them about what they've heard. It's possible that they know something thanks to when Brazell's soldiers came to visit."

They both nodded and after making plans for a little while, left the small room, Valek returning to his suite and the Captains finally returning to the barracks. Their room was empty when they entered, kicking off their shoes and lying down on their beds. Neither was happy about the forthcoming trip, but at least she wasn’t going alone. 


	17. Chapter 17

“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor at this rate,” Ari muttered from the bed, as Janco paced up and down their room, rubbing at his ear with one hand and clutching his stomach with the other. “It’s going to be fine.”

Spinning to face his friend, he shook his head frantically. “We don’t know that. Anything could go wrong. What if they are attacked on the way there? What if Brazell decides to take revenge for Reyad and shove her off a walkway in the factory? What if the ghost of Reyad decides to come back to try and kill her.”

Ari raised an eyebrow. “I think you’ve been reading too many books, Janco. Just calm down and sit down before I have to make you.”

This was a terrible idea. Couldn’t she pretend to be ill? Couldn’t they find someone else to be the Commander’s poison taster? What if someone tried to poison the Commander again? She may have survived the My Love, but would she survive something different? He couldn’t stay here. He needed to go and see her. He just needed to talk to her, make sure that she was going to be okay. She had to be panicking too. Running out of the barracks and ignoring Ari’s calls from behind him, he sprinted across the courtyard and hurried through the corridors, darting out of the way of servants. He arrived at Valek’s suite panting and gestured to the guards who looked at him with raised eyebrows. He outranked them, but they were aware of his usual antics and so were clearly suspicious of his arrival. One of them slipped inside to inform Valek that he was outside and after a brief pause, the guard returned and opened the door wide for him, a startled expression on his face. Evidently he hadn’t been expecting Valek to actually let Janco inside.

Not even bothering to cast a smug look at the guards, he stumbled inside and came face-to-face with his boss who was busy sorting out a pile of books.

“Well? Is there a reason you came hurtling into my office?”

“Yelena. I’m looking for Yelena.” Janco mumbled, his senses returning to him as he realised he had just stumbled into Valek’s office without a second thought. What was he doing!?

Valek nodded to himself and returned to his pile of books, picking them up slowly and checking the spines before placing them in neat piles. “She’s not here I’m afraid. She’s with the Commander, tasting his food before they leave.”

“Oh. Well, sorry for interrupting you then. I’ll leave you to, um, your organising.”

Valek didn’t say anything and so Janco awkwardly turned to head to the door. He was about to leave when something caught his eye and he turned to see what it was. Sat amongst several piles of books on the nearby shelving was a small, black stone carved butterfly. Small silver flecks in the stone glinted in the candlelight. Glancing back at Valek to see if he was watching, he reached out and picked up the small figure, gasping at how light and delicate it was. It seemed almost real, as if a butterfly had flown and landed straight in his hand. It was weird, as soon as he held it he immediately thought of Yelena. Not that that was particularly surprising, she had been on his mind a lot recently, but there was something about the statue that really reminded him of her.

“Are you planning on leaving or do you intend on studying every item in my office?”

He jumped as Valek’s voice came from directly behind him and he turned, the butterfly clutched in his hand, to see Valek standing nearby, arms crossed and an amused expression on his face. “Um, I was just looking … it reminded me of … um, Yelena.”

He glanced away but looked up shocked when Valek chuckled. “That’s because I made it with her in mind. Delicate in appearance, but with a strength unnoticed at first glance, right?”

Janco nodded, silent for the first time in his life, as he stared at the butterfly. It was true, she had always appeared so delicate. When he had first met her, he had been convinced that she would blow away in the wind. She had been so thin, he had been worried about her breaking bones when they had fought. However, she had surprised him then and continued to surprise him now.

“How about you give it to her as a parting gift. A good luck present, as you will.”

“Wait, you’re letting me have it?” Janco stared at him in shock and Valek laughed again, nodding. Valek was letting him have the butterfly? For free? Had someone snuck into the castle and replaced Valek with a clone?

“Yes. Give it here a moment.” He extended his hand and Janco passed it over to him, watching as Valek retreated into his suite, disappearing down the corridor. Janco stood there awkwardly, tapping his foot and glancing around the room as he waited for his boss to come back. A few strange noises emerged from where Valek had gone and he wondered what was happening. This was all very strange. Janco rubbed his ear nervously but straightened when Valek returned with the statue. He held it out and Janco saw that Valek had drilled a small hole in the statue, threading through a delicate silver chain. It was now a necklace, and it was perfect.

Janco took it back and studied it carefully. “Thank you.” He looked Valek directly in the eye, trying to convey his appreciation. Valek nodded and returned to tidying up his books, his generosity clearly over. Excusing himself, Janco slipped from the suite and made his way down the hall, studying the necklace intently.

“Janco?” A familiar female voice made him jump and he immediately thrust the necklace behind his back. Yelena frowned slightly, her eyes drifting to the hand behind his back, but she brushed it off and smiled at him. His heart was pounding. Should he give it to her now?

“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out.” He grinned and she shook her head. Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes and he reached out with his spare hand, putting it on her arm. She looked surprised, staring at his hand for a moment before glancing back up at him.

“It’s going to be fine Yelena. You don’t need to worry. We all have your back.”

“But you’ll all be here? What if something happens?”

He paused. He couldn’t tell her that Valek was going as well, but he had to comfort her somehow. Pulling the necklace out from behind him, he held it out and threaded it over her head.

“If you’re wearing this, nothing bad can happen to you.”

She held it in her hand, studying it carefully. “It’s beautiful.” She squinted at it and then glanced at him with a frown on her face. “Nothing bad can happen, you say. You didn’t buy this from some old woman claiming to be a seer, did you? You know they’re not rea-”

Janco laughed. “No of course not. I got it from someone in the castle. And  _ not  _ an old lady, might I add. I just meant it’s a little piece of me to carry with you. It probably won’t save your life if you’re attacked, but hey, at least you can think of me whilst they do so.”

She rolled her eyes, shoving him in the arm and he playfully shoved her back. “Great, so I can think of you annoying me whilst I die.”

“Would you have it any other way?”

She laughed as she let the necklace drop again and studied him carefully. “No, I wouldn’t. Thanks for this Janco.” His heart skipped a beat when she said his name and he kicked himself mentally. How soppy had he gotten?

They stood there for a couple of moments, just staring at one another before Yelena finally mumbled something about having to finish sorting out her things and after giving Janco a quick hug, she disappeared off down the corridor. He stood there for a couple of minutes, rubbing the back of his neck before coming to a conclusion. Spinning on his heel he ran back through the castle and back to the barracks, bursting into his room. Ari was lying on his bed still, arm draped over his eyes. He didn’t even remove his arm when Janco ran in.

“Why do I get the feeling that I don’t like what I’m about to hear.” Ari murmured and Janco snorted indignantly.

“You never like anything I say so that’s not a particularly astute observation.”

Groaning, Ari rolled over onto his side and stared at his friend. “What is it?”

Janco just smirked. “We’re going to go with them, but we’re going to stay undercover. Follow them, just a little bit behind.”

\---

It was times like this that Ari really questioned why he was still friends with Janco. Why could nothing ever be simple? Valek had told them to stay here and keep an eye on things. Why couldn’t they stay here? Why did they have to sneak around and follow the group? This could only end badly.

“No.”

Janco scowled at him. “Well, I’m going, whether you come or not.”

They stared at one another in a silent argument, and Janco smirked when Ari huffed loudly and sat up, rubbing at his head. Of course, he couldn’t let Janco let on his own, and Janco had known exactly what he was doing when he threatened to do so. The only reason Janco was still alive was thanks to Ari. The reason they were inseparable wasn’t entirely because they loved one another’s company, but partially because something terrible would happen if Janco was left alone. He would get into trouble. Or die. Or both.

“Do you even have a plan, or are we just going to throw ourselves into this.”

Janco tilted his head as he rummaged through the trunk at the end of his bed to find some appropriate clothing. “What do you think?”

“We’re throwing ourselves into this aren’t we.” Ari groaned and flopped back onto the bed. Janco threw some clothes at him and he huffed, opening his eyes to see that it was his sneak suit.

“Get changed. They’re leaving shortly and we need to be ready to leave immediately after them.”

“So we’re just going to follow them?”

“Yes.” Janco was now stuffing various items and weapons into a bag, a frantic look on his face. However, it was different from his normal expression. Before he had left to go to talk to Yelena it had been an expression of panic and worry. Now it had been replaced with determination and excitement. What had happened when he had spoken to Yelena? Had he told her about his feelings towards her? Surely not.

“What about food?” Ari asked, sliding off his bed and starting to pack his own bag. A spare change of clothes, some medicinal herbs and weapons. Janco paused and scowled. 

“Damn. I forgot about that.”

Shaking his head, Ari laughed. “Just as well I have some of this then.” He reached into his trunk and pulled out a couple of bags filled with various foods. All dried and long-life, ideal for emergency trips like this. Janco grinned at him.

“I knew I could rely on you.”

“Not sure what you’d do if you couldn’t.”

Moments passed as they slipped into their sneak suits and covered their clothes with cloaks, shouldering their bags and slipping out of the barracks while ensuring that no one saw them. Yelena had already left along with the Commander and his men, so they needed to hurry if they were going to catch up. They already knew the route thanks to their talks with Valek, and they knew where he intended to follow, so they made sure to avoid his route. The last thing they needed was to run into Valek on this trip.

It was surprisingly easy to slip out of the castle unseen, especially given that they knew the guard rotation. Waiting for one of the smaller exits to become free, they scurried out, sticking to the shadows and headed straight for the woods. They were only an hour behind the Commander’s group, but they needed to catch up should something go wrong. They wouldn’t be much help to Yelena if she needed them and they were miles behind. Darting through the trees, they kept off the main paths to try and avoid being tracked, being careful not to tread too heavily in the slightly damp soil. They soon caught up, hanging back as they saw the familiar red uniform of the soldiers in the Commander’s elite guard. Janco couldn’t see Yelena in the crowd, but he was comforted slightly by the fact that everything looked as if it was still on track. Or at least, no-one had seemingly died yet.

“Hey, we need to hang back a little. Valek should be in this area.” Ari murmured, and the two of them dropped back, hiding in one of the bushes and watching as the procession disappeared into the distance. None of the guards had even noticed Janco and Ari which made Janco snort. They were supposed to be the Commander’s elite. What use were they if they couldn’t even notice two people tracking them?

They were about to continue when Janco noticed something a little way off from where they were hidden, and he slipped out from beside Ari to go and investigate, ignoring his friend’s hisses, snapping at him to come back. It was a broken sampling, surrounded by crushed grass. It was a very small patch, barely noticeable, but it was out-of-place and therefore eye-catching if you knew what to look for.

“I think someone is following them.” he murmured, gesturing at the spot when Ari stalked over to see what the matter was. Ari crouched down and prodded at the ground a couple of times, tilting his head thoughtfully.

“Yeah. Valek is.”

Rolling his eyes, Janco shook his head. “No, we looked at the map remember. Valek isn’t heading through this way. He’s on the other side of the path and doesn’t cross over for at least another hour into their journey.”

“Well, what should we do? We can’t exactly go up to the group and tell them they’re being followed.” He had a point. But they couldn’t just ignore the fact that someone was tailing the group. What if they intended to harm someone?

“We follow them.” Janco stated, jumping back up on his feet and glancing around the forest. Gesturing off somewhere in the distance, he hurtled off, not even waiting for Ari to follow. There was a loud huff from behind him and then the distinct noise of Ari’s footsteps followed. There was a tree dead ahead with slight marking on the trunk, where the bark had been scuffed by something. Or someone.

They followed the almost invisible trail left by the tail for several hours, encountering various broken branches, scuffed pieces of dirt and overturned stones. The signs were far and few however. Whoever they were tracking was an expert. That was until all the signs stopped suddenly.

“Maybe we’ve just missed one.” Ari murmured, spinning around on the spot. Janco was rubbing at his ear and pacing back and forth, carefully scanning the ground for any signs of disturbance. He was about to turn back to Ari when a heavy weight landed on his back and he stumbled forwards for a couple of steps, grunting before collapsing on the ground with a thud. The air was knocked from his lungs as he landed on the ground and he felt the cold bite of metal as a knife was pressed against his neck.

“I’m going to give you three seconds to tell me who the hell you are and why you’re following the Commander. Oh and don’t bother trying to save your friend. Stay where you are.” There was a shuffle and Janco sensed Ari lurking nearby, unsure of what to do. Well, they had found the tail. 

The voice was familiar and his heart sank as he realised who it was. Valek? Janco grunted and tried to turn, stopping as the knife dug further into his neck.

“Janco!?” Valek exclaimed and Janco felt the knife waver on his neck for a moment. “What the hell are you doing here? And you Ari?” The surprise had clearly worn off as Valek’s voice took on a lethal tone again and he tightened his grip on the knife. “What part of ‘stay in the castle’ do you not understand?”

Janco tried to reply but he was struggling; with the weight of Valek pressing down on his back and the knife pressed to his throat he didn’t stand much of a chance. “I. Can’t. Breathe.”

With a loud sigh, Valek slipped off his back and stood beside him, yanking him up off the ground. His boss glared at him as he dusted himself off, trying to avoid making eye contact. Ari had moved from where he had been standing and was beside him now, his arms crossed.

“You weren’t supposed to find us. We were just following behind the group, just keeping an eye on things.” Janco explained and Valek raised his eyebrows as he studied the pair.

“And you really thought I wouldn’t realise you two were following me?”

“We thought we were tracking a tail. They could have been a danger to Yelena,” Janco paused as Valek’s eyes narrowed again. “And the rest of the group, and the Commander, of course. So we followed just to make sure. We wouldn’t have if we had realised it was you.”

“So you tracked me all the way from the barracks where you were supposed to be staying? Also you knew I was tailing them. Did you not consider that the person you were tracking was me?”

“Well no.” Janco glanced at the ground. “We were worried and so we decided to just follow and keep an eye on things. There’s really nothing to be learnt from the soldiers at the barracks. We would have heard by now if there was anything to hear.”

“And you changed your route.” Ari muttered, drawing Valek’s gaze off Janco, for which he was grateful.

“Yes, because I realised someone was following me so I was hoping to lose them. Which didn’t exactly turn out as expected.” He trailed off and tilted his head as he studied the pair. “You’re better at tracking then I was expecting. Well done.”

Janco and Ari stared at one another. Had Valek really just complimented them? He slipped the knife back into his sneak suit and gestured towards the main path. “Well, I guess you’re coming with me now. Come on, we need to catch up with them.”

\---

Yelena was sat cross-legged in the tent, studying the books she had borrowed from Valek. One was full of the old symbols, the same as those engraved carefully into the switchblade Janco had given her. She had her hand over the handle, staring at the symbol thoughtfully. What would they say? Knowing Janco it was probably some joke or an insult. Maybe she had been carrying around something that said ‘Yelena is an idiot’. She wouldn’t have put it past him.

Her heart raced a little as she thought of the Captain. It was weird knowing that he wasn’t a courtyard away from her. He had become such a fundamental part of her life, something which she had never expected. Who would have ever expected, coming from her life in Brazell’s manor and then the dungeons, that she would find people that she could not only confide in but also grow to care about and trust? How she wished that he was here, even if only to mock her.

Turning the pages in the book, she found the six symbols from the switchblade and smiled as she did so. He could be so annoying sometimes, but underneath the prankster facade he put on, he was incredibly sweet. She had given him that coin for himself, and yet he had come back with gifts for her. And not just any random present that he had found in a market, but incredibly thoughtful gifts. Gifts that he had clearly thought about and put time and effort into. If only he was here to thank in person. She huffed, shoving everything back into her pack and flopping back onto her bedding. She pulled the necklace out from under her shirt and gripped it tightly. For the first time in a long time, she felt very alone.

\---

Janco squinted, trying to see through the darkness that was beginning to shroud them. He had been assigned watch of the camp that evening and was sat hidden on a sturdy branch in a nearby tree, watching everyone as they milled about the camp, setting it up. He had spotted Yelena once or twice but had only seen her for a brief second before she had disappeared again.

Valek appeared to have mostly forgiven them for disobeying his orders and had set about giving them various tasks, most of which were menial but they couldn’t complain. He would have had every right to court-martial them for their actions. Janco was busy trying to count the number of fireflies drifting about the camp when movement drew his attention towards one of the tents and he watched as Yelena slipped out of the clearing with her cloak turned inside out. Her bo staff was strapped to her back, alongside her backpack, and the way her hand kept touching her leg every so often made him assume her switchblade was sheathed on her leg. Where was she going? He swung about in the tree to watch as she moved through the forest, pausing after a brief walk to pull her grappling hook from her bag.

“Yelena, what are you  _ doing _ ?” he whispered to himself as she swung the hook up into the tree above her and pulled herself up. He remembered reading the report about how she had done this during the training exercise. It was impressive, watching as she nimbly climbed the rope, swinging herself up into the tree. He pressed himself tightly against the trunk of his own tree, hoping the shadows would hide him as she glanced around. After a quick look, she pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders and set off through the trees. It took Janco a couple of moments, as he watched in awe, to remember what he was supposed to be doing, and he quickly slipped down out of the tree. Letting out a bird call, he waited until two familiar figures slipped towards him, pulling the black hoods of their sneak suits back.

“What’s going on?” Valek asked, and Janco gestured to the trees.

“Yelena’s playing tree monster again. She just left the camp and is now swinging through the trees. No idea where she’s gone, but she’s clearly thought it through. Well, as much as Yelena tends to think things through.” He rolled his eyes and Valek groaned, rubbing at his face.

“Why is nothing ever simple with her?” he asked, and Janco just shrugged. It kept things exciting, if he was honest. Who wanted someone predictable and reliable? Sure, he would prefer it if she threw herself into life-and-death situations a little less often. Being spontaneous didn’t mean you couldn’t stay safe. But he had no interest in women who thought that staying in their homes all day, looking after the house and cooking and living only to serve their husband, was  _ fun _ . He shuddered at the thought. “Right, follow me but stay back. No matter what happens.” Valek looked directly at Janco. “Is that understood?” Janco nodded, ducking his head. “Good. I’ll signal for you to come and help with a bird call.”

They followed Valek through the woods, halting and hiding behind the trees when he told them to and watching as he slipped ahead. He reminded Janco of a snow cat, swift and lethal. Quite like the Commander, in many regards. He froze as they heard cries of pain and dull thuds. People were yelling and it was taking everything he had not to follow Valek to investigate. Ari shot him a look in the murky darkness, shaking his head, and Janco reluctantly obeyed. If they had hurt Yelena in any way he would hurt them. He reached into his clothing and yanked out a knife, clutching it tightly in his hands should he need it.

“Yelena, stop!” He jerked in surprise as he heard Valek yell. Not quite what he was expecting to hear. Stop doing what? Muffled voices filled the air, and then footsteps as someone ran towards them. A bird call echoed through the air and they both stepped out, intercepting a female figure sprinting away from the clearing. They tackled her, grabbing her and holding her tightly as they marched back to the clearing. Relief pulsed through Janco as he saw Yelena standing next to Valek, but the relief was short-lived as he saw the blood covering her shirt and the rips in her trousers. Was that her blood? Or … was it someone else’s? He glanced at the ground nearby and his heart skipped a beat as he saw the fallen figure of a large man, his neck bruised and misshapen. Glancing back at Yelena, he stared at her in shock and her own eyes widened as he pulled back his hood, revealing his face in the fading light. She mouthed his name slowly, but then looked away, shifting uncomfortably on the spot and refusing to make eye contact with him.

It wasn’t the killing of someone that had shaken him, he after all had killed his fair share of enemy soldiers whilst on missions. However, it had been so unexpected. He knew that she wasn’t as innocent as she looked, the whole reason she was the Commander’s poison taster was because she had killed Reyad, but he hadn’t expected her to be holding her own out here. At least his self-defence lessons had paid off, he mused.

Valek gestured at the woman they were holding. “Take her back towards the castle. About an hour away you’ll meet some of my sneaks and tell them to take her back to the castle. I’ll deal with her when I get back. Oh, and get them to send a cleanup crew. I don’t want anyone stumbling onto this mess.”

Janco nodded, tightening his grip on the woman as she tried to escape their grasp but was surprised when Ari said his name, drawing his attention away from Valek and Yelena. “Janco. I’ve got this, go check on her.”

He glanced at the woman briefly before letting go and watching as Ari shifted his grip to hold her more tightly. Perhaps with a normal soldier, or even Janco, she would have been able to escape. However once in Ari’s grip, no-one would be able to escape. The woman hissed angrily but Ari just shoved her forwards. Turning to face Yelena and Valek, she called out.

“Wait, I have information. If you release me I’ll tell you who plotted to ruin the Sitian treaty.” Where did Yelena even find these people!? It was like she went around collecting dangerous criminals as a hobby.

Valek’s eyes narrowed, taking on the icy glare they got when he was angry. Janco shivered at the sight of them, relieved they weren’t directed at him. “Don’t worry. You’ll tell me,” Valek walked forwards and almost passed her when he paused. “However, if you want to reveal your patron now, then we can skip a painful interrogation later.” The woman considered his offer, her nose twitching. “Lying would only worsen your predicament.”

“Kangom. He wore a basic soldier’s uniform with MD-8 colours.”

“General Dinno.” Valek muttered and Janco tried hard not to raise an eyebrow. That would somewhat ruin Valek’s interrogation. He was surprised however when Yelena spoke up.

“Describe Kangom.” she ordered.

“Tall. Long black hair in a soldier's braid. An arrogant bastard. I almost kicked him out, but he showed me a pile of gold I couldn’t refuse.” Sounded like General Dinno, the smug bastard. But why would he try to poison the Commander? What would he have to gain?

“Anything else?”

She shook her head and Valek snapped his fingers, the three of them watching as Ari dragged the woman back into the woods, disappearing into the dark, leaving them in the clearing.

“Could it be Mogkan?” Yelena asked Valek and Janco turned his attention back to her. The blood on her shirt hadn’t gotten any worse and so he assumed, and hoped, that it was from someone else. So there were at least  _ two  _ bodies lying around the woods? He glanced around, trying to spot another but couldn’t see anything. When he looked back, Yelena’s eyes were on him and they stared at one another for a brief moment before she looked away again. He frowned, she wasn’t one to normally look away. Was she embarrassed about something? Or was she cross that he had been following her and the Commander? She didn’t seem to have a problem, so surely not? Or was it a problem with him?

Valek gave her a strange look. “Mogkan? No. Brazell was far too happy about the delegation. Why would he jeopardize the treaty? That doesn’t make any sense. Dinno on the other hand was furious with the Commander. He probably sent one of his men to hire Star.”

So that’s who the woman was. He had heard rumours about her in the barracks, something to do with an information ring, but it had been kept fairly discrete. Clearly she had been one of Valek’s operations.

“Janco will escort you back to the camp.  _ Try  _ and stay with them this time, please. I don’t need you causing any more trouble.” Valek gave her a pointed look and she shifted uncomfortably. Seemingly satisfied that he had instilled the appropriate amount of fear in her, he turned his attention towards Janco. Great. “Follow my tracks once you’re done. I shouldn’t be too far.” Valek started to head off into the woods when he paused. “Oh, Yelena. You better leave your clothes here. There would be quite a fuss if you showed up for dinner soaked with blood.”

With that, he disappeared into the woods, leaving Janco and Yelena alone. She was still refusing to meet his gaze and he sighed quietly, crossing the distance between them and rubbing the back of his neck as he stood close to her.

“I’m glad you’re safe.” he murmured and reached to put a hand on her shoulder, a little taken aback when she shifted away from his touch. His hand dropped back beside his side and he took a small step back again. Well. This was new.

\---

Of all the people that had to find her after she had just murdered two more people, and was drenched in their blood, it had to be Janco. Valek, she didn’t care about. They had made a deal that neither of them would mention their meeting in the woods as to make sure that they both came out of this alive. The Commander would likely court-martial Valek for disobeying his orders to remain in the castle, and as for herself, well there was no way they would let her remain poison taster having killed another two people.

She knew she was being off with Janco, but she couldn’t bear the thought of him thinking any less of her. He knew she was a murderer already; everyone knew about Reyad. However, the look on his face when he had entered the clearing and saw her covered in blood and the body on the floor had almost been too much to bear. She didn’t regret her decision to kill them, well, not entirely. She had just been doing what Valek would have done, which according to him was completely wrong. But had he not solved all of his problems with murder? And it had been a life or death situation. She could hardly have left them in the woods. She didn’t know that Valek had been nearby, and she could hardly take them back to camp with her. She would have just had to have left them in the woods and become sitting bait as she waited for them to next attack. As for Star, she probably would have also killed her had Valek not interrupted. Valek was right, she hadn’t even considered taking her back to the Commander. But would he have listened to her? Given the way he was acting at the moment, she wasn’t so sure.

And now she was left in the uncomfortable position of not knowing what Janco thought of her. The person whose opinion she cared about most in the world could hate her right now and she wouldn’t know. As soon as she had flinched out of Janco’s touch however she regretted it, especially seeing the flash of pain in his eyes.

“Do you have a spare change of clothes?” he asked quietly, and she nodded, crouching down to reach into her backpack and pulling out the clothes. They both stared at them for a moment before he flushed slightly and turned to give her some privacy. Yelena quickly changed, staring into the darkness as she did so. Did Valek have more sneaks lurking in the woods, watching them from the shadows? How had Valek even ended up following the group with Ari and Janco? The frustrating thing was that all she wanted to do was pull Janco into a tight hug. They had been separated for mere days and yet it had felt wrong. To have him standing here, now, had been all she had wanted and yet she was treating him with a cold shoulder. What was wrong with her!?

“I’m done.” she told him softly, and he jolted, turning back to face her. His eyes dropped to her hands which were still stained with blood and he frowned, reaching into his own pack to pull out a water pouch and his handkerchief. Dousing the material in water, he held out his hand for her own. She slowly extended her hand, resting it in his as he silently worked to clean it. Gently wiping away the blood, he eventually broke the silence. 

“Nice work, by the way.” he said, nodding his head towards the body lying nearby. She knew from here that he could also see the second body, a bloody mess on the forest floor. Frowning, she looked away.

“Don’t jest. I’m not in the mood.”

She jolted slightly as he stopped cleaning her hand and reached out to guide her chin so she was looking back at him. No humour glinted in his eyes.  
“I mean it. For someone who has only been learning self-defence for a short while, you did an impressive job. Most people would have just frozen in fear and found themselves gutted before they even had a chance to process what was going on.”

“Did you see it?”

“The fight? No, I think Valek did, but I was too far back. I heard some of it though. Sounded like you were holding your own.” He chuckled quietly. “I was worrying though at the time, that the cries were coming from you. I needn’t have worried though, should I?”

So was he okay with it? “It was in self-defence.” Yelena offered hurriedly, desperate to make him understand.

He stopped cleaning her hands again and held him both in his own, rubbing his thumbs slowly over the backs on her hands. “I know. Don’t misunderstand me, Yelena. You may think I’m judging you for what you did, that I disagree, but I am never in the position to do so. I have killed numerous people in my life. None of which I’m proud of, but they were all necessary kills. Many more people would have died had I not made that call. As did you. For all you know, they might have attacked the camp tonight while you all slept and killed numerous innocents in an attempt to get to you. So don’t think that I in any way am criticizing, or mocking, you about this. Please.”

They stood there in silence for a short while, neither of them moving. Yelena didn’t even think she was breathing. Finally, Janco moved and quickly wiped the last of the blood of her hands, breaking the spell that had held them entranced. “There we go. All gone.”

He stuffed the handkerchief back into a pocket on his sneak suit and rolled his shoulders as he stepped back again, offering her a warm smile. He gestured at her necklace. “See, you’re still alive.” He grinned and a laugh bubbled from her throat, taking her by surprise. Seemingly satisfied by her laugh, he took her hand and once she had picked up her satchel, guided her back through the woods, stopping every so often to check the ground.

“So what made you decide to leave camp and go and find those thugs?”

She cringed slightly, and reached into her pocket, passing him a piece of paper. “This was left in my tent. I realised it was probably a trap, which is why I went prepared.”

He let go of her hand, pausing to unfold the letter and snorting when he finally read it. “They think I write like that? Ari says my handwriting looks like someone attached a brush to a tree and let the wind blow through the branches, scratching a message onto paper. I don’t think I’ve ever written anything this elegant in my life. And they got my signature completely wrong. My J’s are far more pointy.” He probably would have continued criticizing the note but Yelena snatched it out of his hands and stuffed it back into her pocket with a chuckle. “And anyway, if I was addressing it to you I wouldn’t have started it with a cold  _ Yelena,  _ I would have gone with something much more friendly like tree monster, or maybe Yelly.”

She elbowed him in the side and he laughed with delight. She tried to hide her smile, “Never call me that again.” she threatened, pointing a finger at him and he laughed again, wrapping his hand around the hand pointing at him. Her heart was racing, quickening even further as he stepped closer to her. That familiar smirk was playing on his lips.

“Or what? You’ll tell on me?”

“I’ll … I’ll never speak to you again.” Damn. Why did her brain have to go blank now? What a pathetic comeback. Janco obviously agreed as he snorted with laughter.

“What, and give me some peace and quiet. But Yelena, that’s all I dream about. You’d be doing me a favour.”

She huffed and hit him in the chest, her hands lingering. He glanced down at them, eyes widening slightly, but returned his gaze to her with a growing smile. He opened his mouth, as if about to say something else, but something drew his attention past her shoulder, into the woods beyond and his shoulders sagged as he took a small step back. Her heart sank a little. But what had she been expecting? Bidding her a quick goodbye, he pulled her into a quick hug, his arms lingering around her before giving her a brief nod of goodbye, flashing a smirk and disappearing into the woods. She stood there for a moment, staring after him before sighing quietly and heading back to the camp. Well, she had gotten her hug. But why did she now feel so empty?


	18. Chapter 18

The Commander had stopped taking interest in anything, or giving orders, by the time they arrived at Brazell’s manor. All the orders were now being given by Brazell himself. Yelena had hidden her backpack and bo staff off the main trail, tying her hair up in a bun with her lock picks, just in case. Her heart was racing as she followed the Commander, his advisors, and Mogkan and Brazell up the stairs to Brazell’s office. Even with her mental shield in place, she was terrified. Her palms were sweating and she was having trouble focusing. This all felt surreal. To be back here, alone with Brazell and Mogkan. It was like all of her nightmares combined. When Brazell dismissed the advisors to retire for the evening, she attempted to follow them but much to her horror, she was halted promptly and brought back to the centre of the room. She glanced at the Commander in the hopes that he would do something, but he was staring off at the wall, oblivious to everything going on around him.

“Not yet,” Mogkan sneered. “We have special plans for you.”

Her heart raced and she wobbled slightly, panic rising in her throat. Brazell and Reyad’s  _ special plans  _ had never worked out in her favour. They usually involved pain and humiliation. Whilst Brazell and Mogkan spoke about the Commander and their plans, Yelena worked to strengthen her mental defences. Placing brick on top of brick, she slowly built her wall. But as it turned out, it was with little avail. 

Mogkan caught on quickly. “Yelena, you’ve learned a new trick. Redbrick, how mundane.” He sighed and she began to hear a faint scraping noise. “But, weak spots. Here and here.” He gestured in the air and her heart sank. “And I do believe this brick is loose.” Mortar holding her wall together began to crumble and small holes were starting to appear. No, no no! “When I have a moment, I’ll smash your defences into dust.”

Brazell sneered at her. “Why waste your time. Dead. Now.”

She flinched back as he approached with a murderous stare, his sword brandished in his hand. He stopped only when Mogkan commanded him to. They argued back and forth, Brazell desperate to end her life now and Mogkan arguing for her to live. If only to act as bait for Valek.

“But who cares about a food taster? No one except Valek.” And a couple of others, Yelena mused but she kept quiet. The less they knew, the better. With a whispered comment in the Commander’s ear from Mogkan, the Commander opened his briefcase and withdrew a flask, handing it over to the magician. She began to feel nauseous as she realised that it was the antidote. Valek had told her she could rely on the Commander for it, but that would be impossible now. Two soldiers barged into the room and Mogkan sneered at her.

“Your escorts are here, Yelena. They’ll take good care of you.” Grinning at the guards he gestured at the door. “She doesn’t need a tour. Our infamous Yelena has come home.”

She was stationed in the guest wing, guarded at all times, and only allowed to leave when the Commander needed his food tasting. Examining the lock, she realised it was a simple pin-and-tumbler type, something which could be easily picked using the locks holding up her hair. Janco would be proud of her, she thought smugly. She had gone from not understanding locks at all to being able to easily recognise the type and be confident that she could pick it. She touched the picks in her hair thoughtfully, remembering when Janco had given them to her. The night passed uneventfully, her mind drifting between thoughts of escape and the Captain who had appeared so suddenly in her life. His necklace hung close to her heart and she clutched it tightly as she dozed off.

She was returned to her room promptly after tasting the Commander’s breakfast. Mogkan had tried to use the antidote to force her to reveal Valek’s location, something which would have been considerably easier had she actually known where Valek was. Not that she would have revealed his location if she had known. She had just waited until the magician had been distracted before snatching the antidote from his hands and downing it, much to his fury. The chamber was growing too small, and she paced the room back and forth feeling ever-increasingly trapped. How she wished she was back in the castle, doing her morning run with Ari and Janco, and then training with them in the storage rooms down below. She would have given anything to have Janco by her side, ready to spar and argue with. Nothing seemed  _ so  _ bad when he was around. Much to her surprise, she was invited on the tour to see the Criollo factory alongside the Commander and his advisers. It only furthered her fear however as she watched as the expressions on the advisor’s faces disappeared as they munched on bars of Criollo, rendering them almost empty shells, just like the Commander. They hadn’t even objected to discovering the true nature of the factory. Brazell had complete control over them, which meant his ruse would be dropped any time soon. She needed to escape before they stopped being so lenient towards her.

Tricking her guards into letting her bathe alone, she used her lock picks to unlock the door on the far side of the bathing room. The guards hadn’t spotted it when they had done a quick check of the room before leaving her alone and she grinned to herself. For once, the hours spent as a child exploring Brazell’s manor were paying off. However, her delight was short-lived as she encountered a smirking guard on the other side of the door. Without even pausing to think about her plan of attack, she used her momentum to knock him off balance and punched him sharply in the groin. Leaving him collapsed on the floor, she slipped out of the castle and grabbed her pack and bo staff from where she had hidden them in the forest. Even just having them close to her made her feel a little bit safer, the familiar grain of the wood a comforting touch underneath her fingers. She immediately headed for the treetops, knowing that this was where the others would look for her first once they learned of her escape.

\---

“What’s going to happen to her? Now that she’s killed again?” Janco asked Valek, crouching down beside him as they studied the ground. Valek had spotted a broken twig and stopped to inspect it, but upon a closer look it had clearly been a passing woodland animal. Valek sighed, and pushed himself back up off the ground, glancing at Janco with an unreadable expression.

“I’m not going to report her if that’s what you’re asking. I’ll keep it quiet and if the Commander asks, it was me who killed them. I could equally be punished for disobeying his orders and not staying at the castle, like someone else I know.” He gave Janco a pointed look, but the Captain just shrugged. He wasn’t about to apologise for something he didn’t regret, even if he had disobeyed orders. “And so if neither of us mentions the other’s faults then everything should be fine.”

Janco’s heart slowed slightly; he hadn’t even realised it had been pounding. He had been terrified that Valek would report Yelena to the Commander once they found him. She would immediately be thrown back in the dungeon for almost immediate execution and someone else would take her place as the poison taster. He had no idea what he would do if that happened. The thought of Yelena sitting in the dungeon waiting for her time to visit the noose almost broke him.

They arrived at the manor a few hours after the main group, Ari catching up with them not long after they had left Yelena at the camp, and they had immediately split up to scout the area. Each taking different sections of the manor and surrounding areas to watch, Janco found himself watching one of the manor exits, sat high up in the treetops, swinging his legs back and forth as he waited for any movement. The night passed and the morning arrived without any movement; it wasn’t until the early evening that anything began to happen. Something dropped from one of the windows and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor below. He lurched in his seat, almost falling out of the tree, and he had to grab onto the trunk to steady himself as he jumped up and crouched on the branch. Not long after, the door to the manor opened and a familiar figure slipped through the doors and picked up the crumpled heap, swinging it around her neck as he realised it was a cloak.

“Oh, you clever girl.” He murmured to himself and he watched her closely as she ran into the tree line and disappeared from sight. Cupping his hands together, he pressed them to his lips and let out a realistic bird call. Movement caught his attention from across the clearing, the other side of the manor, and he grinned as he slipped out of the three.

Valek and Ari joined him moments later and he explained what he had seen. “She went this way.” He gestured to the tree line. “I think she went up, like before.” Valek nodded in agreement and together the three of them snuck into the woods, following the direction Yelena had taken. They split up again briefly to try and find her quicker, Janco choosing to walk along slowly whilst staring up at the trees in the hopes that he would spot her. However, it had only been a few minutes when the bird call sounded again and he followed it to find Yelena, Ari and Valek standing in a clearing. Her eyes lit up when she saw him and he quickly crossed over to pull her into a tight hug. He would have lingered but he could feel Ari and Valek’s eyes on him and so he quickly let go.

She quickly explained to the group about the Criollo and how Brazell and Mogkan were using it to take control of everyone, making Janco shudder. “Ugh, creepy magicians and their powers.” He frowned as Yelena flinched slightly, but brushed it off as her reacting over being in such close proximity to Mogkan and his harmful tricks. She continued to go on and explain how they needed to search the manor for Mogkan’s power source. Valek nodded in agreement.

“We should split up again, Janco you stick with Yelena in case you encounter trouble.” Janco nodded and shot a grin at Yelena who smiled distractedly back at him. A flicker of concern jolted through him again. What was the problem? Telling them to wait there, Valek disappeared for a short while.

“Are you okay there, Yelena?” Janco asked and Ari studied her closely. She nodded, giving him a tight smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just ready for this to all be over.”

He reached to put a hand on her shoulder but paused, dropping his hand back by his side. He remembered what happened last time she had been acting strange towards him. He didn’t want to be rejected again like before. “Don’t worry. We’ve got your back.”

“Absolutely. If this idiot isn’t enough for you, you have Valek and me as well watching your back.” Ari offered and Yelena smiled, ducking her head. She was about to add something when Valek came back, throwing a dark coloured shirt at Yelena and passing Ari and Janco both bull’s-eye lanterns.

“Put this on, Yelena. Cover your uniform.” he ordered and she did so, pulling it down over her bright red shirt. Janco smirked at the sight, it was far too big for her and almost reached her knees. Dilana would have had a fit had she seen it. Passing around a lit splint, Valek waited until everyone had lit their lanterns before he blew it out and started giving orders.

“Keep the slide almost entirely closed, we don’t want the light to draw too much attention to us. Ari, you take the southern wing. I’ll take the northern wing and Janco and Yelena, you two take the eastern wing.” Janco glanced at Yelena and was alarmed at how she had suddenly paled. Was this really a good idea? Perhaps she should stay out here and-

“Come on then, Janco. Time is fleeting.” Yelena’s voice interrupted his thoughts and he jerked as he realised she was standing right in front of him, a partial smile on her face. Valek had disappeared. Ari, who was standing nearby with a smirk, rolled his eyes and gestured at him, using their code.

_ Stay focused on job. Not girl. _

He signed something rude back and Ari snorted, shaking his head as he disappeared into the darkness. With a quiet sigh, Janco turned back to Yelena and nodded. “Off we go then.”


	19. Chapter 19

Yelena was mostly quiet as they slowly sneaked through the house, keeping their footsteps light as they made their way through door after door. The silence would be broken occasionally by Yelena pointing out areas to avoid on the floor as the floorboards let out a terrible wail when trodden on. The air was thick, previously undisturbed dust rising up and dancing through the air as they carried. The narrow beam of light would occasionally cast itself over Yelena and it made his heart jolt every time. Her face had paled even further and she was looking around the rooms with wide eyes. At one point he caught her staring at her hand, the red glint of blood drawing his attention. Oh,  _ Yelena _ .

They entered what looked like a laboratory and he frowned, especially as Yelena froze and tried to slip through the room, keeping as far away from the table of metal instruments. He moved closer to get a better look and frowned when he saw the medley of knives, pliers and other various tools. Some of them were strained brown with flaking dried blood and he shuddered. It appeared that this had once been a laboratory but it felt nothing like those in the Commander’s castle. This felt reminded him more of the torture rooms that Valek looked after in the basement. What had been happening here?

They continued through into another hallway and he entered the first door he came across. This time, Yelena lurked outside and refused to even enter. He dreaded what he was going to find. It was a bedroom, Reyad’s bedroom if he was to take a guess. He moved slowly around the room, casting the narrow beam of light onto everything as he took it all in. The bed was covered in a thick coat of dust. He thought back to the reports when Reyad had been murdered; Yelena had been found straddling his body on the bed, blood everywhere. Thankfully someone had changed the sheets since then. But what had she been doing in his room? Had she snuck in during the night to murder him as he slept?

A chest sat in the corner of the room and he crouched down to open it up, holding up the lantern to see inside. It was filled with chains, whips and other torture items, most of which also had dried blood crusted onto them. What the hell? This wasn’t the bedroom of a young man, this was the torture chamber of a sadist. He closed it and was about to close it when he spotted a journal on the floor under the bed. It must have been missed by the cleaners when they had sorted out his room after the murder. Placing the lantern on the floor, he reached forwards for it and grabbed it by its leather bindings, pulling it out from under the bed. Casting a quick glance at the door again to see if Yelena was standing there, which she wasn’t, he returned his attention to the journal again and flicked it open, revulsion immediately consuming him as he read the elegant scrawl.

For not calling him sir when Yelena had first met him, she would assume a submissive position on her hands and knees, and then be whipped. With each lash, she would respond with the words, “More, sir, please.” Reyad would then continue the torture by raping her, during which she would address him as sir, and beg him to continue her punishment. His fingers trembled as he flipped through the rest of the book. Page after page of intricate tortures were described in Reyad’s scrawl, all for such painfully minor things. The book hit the floor with a dull thud as he dropped it, rushing for the nearby wall where he immediately threw up. He gasped for air, gripping desperately at the wall for support. Once the heaving had finished, he collapsed onto his knees. It felt like his heart was shattering into a thousand pieces. He couldn’t stop shaking. He buried his face in his hands, clutching at his hair as he tried to muffle his cries so that she didn’t hear. How far had Reyad got through that journal before she had murdered him? How much damage had he done to her? How could she possibly have made it through all that, and still come out the other side to be the person she was today? How could they hurt her like that? She hadn’t done anything,  _ anything _ , and Reyad had taken advantage of his power to satisfy his sick desires. Overwhelming anger rose up inside him and he grabbed the journal and threw it at the wall where it slid down slowly and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor.

Oh, that bastard was lucky he was dead. Because if he was still alive, there wouldn’t have been a thing on Earth that could have stopped him from killing Reyad. His father was still alive though. He must have known what Reyad was doing, and he didn’t put a stop to it. So he too deserved to suffer. To die.

Once the tears had stopped flowing, he wiped at his eyes. She didn’t need to know that he knew. He just needed to go outside and act normal. Yeah, he could do that. Running his hands through his hair a couple of times and wiping at his face, he pushed himself up off the floor and headed to the door, picking up his lantern as he went. He was still shaking, but that couldn’t be helped.

She was in the corridor waiting for him as he stepped outside and he paused as he left the room. A fresh wave of horror hit him as he looked at her.  _ How  _ was she still standing? He wouldn’t be. Everyone, including him, had underestimated how strong she was. Oh, she was so much stronger than anyone knew. Realising that he had been staring at her with a somewhat horrified expression, an expression which he felt would be stuck on his face for a long time, he quickly glanced away and moved down the corridor to try the other doors. He was about to start opening another but his hand trembled as he reached for the handle. What would he find behind this door? Would it reveal another terrible part of Yelena’s life? However, upon finally managing to open the door, it was empty, thick sheets of dust covering the floor. Relief flooded through him and together they continued exploring the rooms down the corridor. It had clearly been abandoned and he was beginning to wonder whether it was worth checking the remaining rooms. Every time he looked at Yelena he just wanted to pull her in close and protect her from everything around them. She would hate that of course, but at least then he wouldn’t have to constantly worry about her.

He stood beside him, looking pale and shaking slightly, and he was about to reach for her to put a comforting hand on her shoulder when he quickly dropped his hand again. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable with unnecessary physical contact. His heart dropped suddenly. Was that why she had been flinching away from him previously? A wave of nausea rose through him and he turned to focus on picking the lock on the door. The thought of having caused her any pain, accidental or not, stabbed at him like a burning knife to the stomach. However, his thoughts were quickly pushed to one side and the terrible smell of unwashed bodies and excrement hit him. He raised the lantern to get a better look and his heart dropped as he saw the room was full of women and a few men, all dressed in the same rags and wearing the same blank look. Their eyes watched him as he moved through the rings of prisoners, asking them questions. “Who are you? Why are you here?” he asked, but none of them replied, instead they just stared at him.

Yelena’s cry of pain made him spin around and he watched as she stroked the shoulder of a young ginger-haired woman, whispering a name over and over again. Yelena’s eyes were pained as the woman didn’t seem to respond to her touch, instead, she just stared straight ahead, and his heart broke all over again. How many lives had Brazell, Mogkan and Reyad ruined? Anger rose in his throat as Yelena’s broken voice questioned what was next. They needed to find Valek and Ari and get everyone the hell out of here.

“You’re arrested and thrown in the dungeon.” Mogkan sneered from behind him and Janco turned to see him standing in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest. His anger increased and he lunged at Mogkan. However, he promptly came to a halt as he exited the doorway and found himself surrounded by eight guards. The coward. With their swords pointed at his chest, there was little else he could do except raise his hands in the air. Yelena ran to help but was quickly halted by a guard, jabbing his sword into her back to direct her down the hallway. There was nothing he could do to save them, not even as they were both stripped of their clothes and searched. His sword, lock picks and hidden knives were all taken from him, thrown in a pile along with Yelena’s switchblade and necklaces. He noticed a red amulet join her pile of belongings and decided to focus on that, resisting the urge to knee the guard who was roughly patting him down, in the groin. He wondered where she had got it from? Anger was rising rapidly and he tried to focus on his breathing. Losing his temper would get them nowhere. He just needed to stay calm and hopefully, Valek and Ari would realise that they had been captured and come to rescue them.

Once dressed again, they were led to the dungeons and thrown in adjacent cells. He crashed to the ground as he was shoved inside, grunting as his elbow slammed into the solid floor. Not even the filthy straw helped to cushion his fall. The air was rancid, and he was struggling to breathe, desperate for fresh air once again. He hated small, confined spaces and this ticked all the boxes. He was about to say something when he heard a familiar sigh and his heart sank.

“Ari?” he asked, and he heard someone shift in the cell from across the corridor.

“Yup.” His partner popped the ‘p’, as he did when he was fed up, and Janco groaned. “And Valek.”

He heard a noise of surprise from Yelena’s cell and shook his head. If the Commander’s master assassin had been caught, then they were in big trouble. The straw rustled in the cell next to Ari’s, Valek he assumed.

“Did you find anything?” he asked. Concise and to the point as usual. He gave them a short summary of what they had found, skipping over what he had found in Reyad’s room. When he described what they had found in the locked room, with all the prisoners, there was a loud crash as Ari slammed something into the bars in anger. Probably his hand. There was silence for a short while until Valek spoke again.

“Was that your fate, Yelena? If you hadn’t killed Reyad, were you slated to be chained to the floor, mindless?”

“I think Brazell and Reyad were determined to reduce me to that mental state. But I endured. Mogkan must be using them for extra power. The way they were sat in the circles, it’s a ritual of some sort. They must have screened the children in the orphanage, looking for magical potential and then experimented on them. Mogkan then wiped their minds clean so that they were little more than portable power sources.” Her voice trailed off in the darkness and Janco closed his eyes. What an awful fate, for anyone. The fact that Yelena hadn’t succumbed to their torture was his only relief.

“What did you find in Reyad’s room?” Valek asked, his voice showing no emotion.

Janco paused. If he revealed what he had found, Yelena would then know that he knew about what Reyad had done, and it would also mean revealing it to the others. She clearly wanted to keep it to herself, or else she would have told everyone already. The silence was beginning to weigh down on him and he was about to speak when there was another bang on the bars of Ari’s cell. “That bastard.”

“I assume you’re not referring to his involvement with the prisoners anymore.” Valek questioned, shifting again in his cell. His interest had been piqued and Janco’s heart was beginning to race. Yelena was remaining quiet and he was worried about her. If only he had had a chance to discuss this all with her beforehand, on their own.

“Janco. What did you find in his room?” Valek pushed and he groaned, running his hand through his hair.

“I, um, found general bedroom stuff. And, there was a box, um, and-”

“Seeing as two of you already know, or at least have a pretty good idea, I guess I should explain.” Yelena interrupted and Janco almost collapsed with relief. However, it was short-lived, as the next few minutes were the worst few minutes of his entire life. She described, sparing no details, about how she had been Reyad’s laboratory rat for two years, about Reyad’s tortures and torments, the cruel games, the humiliations, the beatings, the longing to be good for Reyad, and finally the rape that had led to murder. Nausea rose in his throat again and he had to bite down on his lip to halt the sob that threatened to escape. She was crying and every time her voice broke, a little bit more of himself broke. There was absolute silence in the cells once she had finished speaking, except Yelena’s unsteady breathing and the roaring in his ears. Brazell and Mogkan would pay for this, even if it meant his own death. He hadn’t realised, not even close, how bad her life had been. And to think he had accused her of being a criminal when they first met. Had dismissed her as a mindless murderer.

“Brazell and Mogkan will be destroyed,” Valek promised, his voice ice-cold as he broke the silence.

“Damn right,” Ari growled.

The noise of the main door unlocking drew their attention and they watched as Brazell and Mogkan were escorted into the room, flanked by four guards holding lanterns. The beams of light made Janco’s eyes hurt, having become accustomed to the gloom of the dungeon but he quickly pushed that out of his mind as he realised the two people he hated most in this world were standing directly before him. He longed to lunge for the bars, to yell at them, to tell them exactly what he thought, but he caught Ari’s eye from across the corridor and his partner shook his head subtly. It would not achieve anything and would likely put them all in more danger. He and Ari were spares in this game that Brazell was playing, and he knew the General wouldn’t even blink before ordering their deaths. Unlike Valek and Yelena, they weren’t important.

“It’s good to see you back where you belong.” Brazell sneered as he stood outside Yelena’s cell. “My desire to feel your blood on my hands has tempted me, but Mogkan has kindly informed me of your fate, should you not receive your antidote.” Antidote? An antidote for what? “Seeing my son’s killer writhing in excruciating pain will be better justice. I’ll visit later to hear your screams. And if you beg me, I might put you out of your misery, just so I can breathe in the hot scent of your blood.” What the hell was he talking about? Yelena just watched him with an emotionless gaze, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. Janco kept to the shadows, trying to hide the anger on his own face. Brazell turned to Valek and sneered at him.

“Disobeying a direct order is a capital offence. Commander Ambrose has signed your death warrant. Your hanging is scheduled for noon tomorrow.” Valek just stared calmly back at him. “I think I shall have your head stuffed and mounted. You’ll make an effective decoration in my office when I become Commander.” Laughing as they left, the two men retreated from the dungeons closely followed by the guards and the cells were plunged into darkness once more.

He heard rustling in the cell beside him as Yelena started pacing back and forth. They could hear her breathing, becoming quicker and quicker.

“Yelena? What did he mean about the antidote?” Ari asked before Janco even had a chance to ask himself. At least Janco wasn’t the only one in the dark about what Brazell had meant. Well, technically they were  _ all  _ in the dark. The bastard hadn’t even left a torch when he locked them up in here. The pacing stopped temporarily and then resumed again. Seemingly realising that Yelena wasn’t going to answer, Valek answered for her.

“How did you think I kept the poison taster in the castle? I needed some motivation to stop them from running away or neglecting their duties and the solution to that was Butterfly’s Dust. A simple poison, with some pretty nasty side effects. When someone becomes the new taster, I give them just enough of the poison to be lethal. They then have the choice of coming to me every morning for the antidote, or running away and dying.”

Janco’s heart skipped a beat. Had he heard Valek correctly; Valek had  _ poisoned  _ Yelena? Anger rose through him again and he slammed his hand into the bars of the cell. It was a good thing that there were bars between him and his boss as there would have been little else that would have stopped him from attacking Valek. There was silence and then a bitter laugh came from Ari’s cell. “You bastard.”

“It wasn’t personal. It was just a strategic move. You would have done the same.”

Janco spluttered. “Done the same? I would  _ never  _ poison someone like that to keep them trapped.”

“Even if they were just a criminal? If you didn’t have any personal attachment to them whatsoever? Would you be saying the same thing had you discovered about Butterfly’s Dust before the training exercise before you had met her?” Valek countered and Janco seethed. Valek had a point. Before he had met Yelena, if someone had told him that Valek had poisoned her, he would have thought it cruel but wouldn’t have been that bothered by it. After all back then he had thought her just your average murder. As much as he hated to admit it, especially now after everything he had learnt, he had agreed back then with the majority of those in the castle. That she should just be hanged for her actions, and the role of poison taster given to the next person on the list. But none of this would matter because Valek had assumed that he would always be there to give them the antidote should the poison taster still deserve it. He hadn’t anticipated the poison taster dying despite their innocence. Janco slammed his hand into the bars again and the noise echoed in the silence.

“She’s going to  _ die  _ because of you.” he yelled and hit the bars again. Pain shot through his hand but he didn’t care. How was it that he always felt so useless, unable to save her?

There was a quiet sigh from nearby. “Janco, it’s fine.” Yelena muttered.

He laughed incredulously. “Fine? No, it’s not! It’s nowhere near fine. You’re going to  _ die _ , Yelena and we can’t do anything about it. It’s not like the My Love where you’ll just come out the other side of it eventually. This is it! The end!”

There was movement and he heard her move closer to the bars between their cells. “Don’t you think I know that!” she snapped at him. “Don’t you think I know that I’m going to die here, thanks to Valek’s poison.” She laughed bitterly. “It’s ridiculous. Every time I think I’ve escaped death, it’s always just around the corner waiting for me.” She slammed her hands into the bars, again and again. He wanted to move towards her, to try and calm her but he found himself frozen on the spot. “I’m stuck. In this  _ stupid  _ cell. Right back where I started. And if I don’t die thanks to the poison, I’ll die at Brazell or Mogkan’s hand.  _ Brilliant _ .” Her breathing was growing louder, turning into panicked gasps and she started moving around her cell with a frantic air, kicking at the bars and slamming her fists into the wall. Ari kept trying to call her name, trying to calm her down but she ignored him. He couldn’t do anything. Everything inside was frozen. His brain was screaming at him to move, to help her, but his body refused to even move an inch. It was like he was standing on the very edge of a cliff, staring down at the immense drop below and he knew, he knew that if he just moved backwards he would be safe, but everything was telling him to just stay there. Because if he moved there was always that chance that he would still fall, but if he just stayed there then maybe he would be safe. This was ridiculous. She was  _ dying  _ and he was too much of a coward to do anything. He had to do something, anything. She was losing it there and he wasn’t doing anything to help her.

“Yelena.” Janco finally said and she stopped slamming at the bars. “Please, stop.” He fisted his hands, his nails digging sharply into his palms. It wasn’t supposed to have happened like this. They were supposed to still be at the castle, training together every day. She wasn’t supposed to be  _ dying _ .

“Get some sleep; you’ll need your strength for tonight.” Valek instructed quietly and Yelena snorted, snapping back at him.

“Oh yeah, everyone needs to be well-rested to die.” She paused and sighed quietly. “I’ll try.” There was shuffling as she lay down on the ground, and everything went silent again. He shuffled into a more comfortable position of his own, lying back on the filthy straw and staring up at the darkness with his arms crossed behind his head. Letting out a shaky breath, he realised he was terrified. Not of dying in itself, he had been in this situation before. He knew that when he became a soldier, he could die at some point. No, he was terrified of dying without having said everything he wanted to say. He hadn’t thanked Ari for everything he had done for him over the years, for always being there. He hadn’t thanked Valek and the other soldiers for taking him in and training him all those years ago. And he hadn’t told Yelena how he truly felt about her. That he … loved her.

\---

It had been several hours Janco guessed when Yelena woke up with a loud cry. He had been drifting off to sleep so jumped at the sudden noise, sitting up with panic. What was happening. Judging by the sudden bang and the muttered swearing from Ari’s cell, Ari had also fallen asleep.

“Nice nap?” Valek asked and Yelena snorted, making Janco relax. Clearly it wasn’t anything life-threatening.

“I’ve had better. The guy in the cell next to me snored.” Janco gasped indignantly but a smile played on his lips. At least she was still in the mood to joke about.

“Try sleeping next to him on a regular basis. It’s a miracle I’ve not smothered him in his sleep yet.” Ari muttered and Janco retorted with a few rude words making Ari snigger.

“How long was I out?” Yelena asked, the straw rustling as she moved about her cell, bones clicking as she stretched.

“It’s hard to tell without the sun. I’m guessing it’s close to sunset.” Valek answered and Janco nodded to himself. Seemed about right. He was about to make a comment about sunsets when Yelena gasped suddenly, letting out a quiet groan.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, panicking. He shoved himself up off the ground and hurried to the bars between them, gripping them tightly as he tried to see her in the darkness.

“Stomach cramps from hell.” she gasped, and his stomach dropped. The poison. For a brief moment, he had forgotten all about it. Forgotten the fact she was about to die right before them and there was nothing he could do about it. “Is this the start?”

“Yes. They begin slowly, but soon the convulsions will be continuous.” Valek responded calmly and Janco shook the bars with anger, especially as there was a loud thud on the other side. The sound of someone collapsing.

“Yelena.  _ Yelena _ .” he cried, the silence terrifying him. How quickly did the poison take? How long did they have?

“I’m … fine … just … oh wow, this … hurts.” she gasped, and he exhaled sharply.

“Can she just ride it out? Like with the My Love? Maybe she’s strong enough-” Ari questioned, his voice frantic. Valek sighed loudly and shuffled in his cell.

“If you want something to take comfort from - there’s no poison called Butterfly’s Dust.” Janco’s heart skipped a beat as he turned to look at his boss, even in the darkness. What the hell was he talking about? Of course there was a poison called Butterfly’s Dust, Yelena was right there dying from it. He was about to yell at him when Yelena let out a cry of pain, retching. To hear her, in so much pain, and to not be able to do anything about it was complete agony.

“What are you talking about?” Ari snapped. It seemed everyone in the room wanted to kill Valek after that comment.

“You’re going to want to die, wish you were already dead, but in the end you’ll be quite alive.” This didn’t make any sense. One minute he was telling them how Yelena had been given a lethal dosage and would die without the antidote, and now he was saying that she would make it out of this fine, relatively speaking. If only he could get his hands on Valek; he would wring his neck.

“Why tell me now?” Yelena gasped, groaning again.

“The mind controls the body. If you believed that you were going to die, then you might have died from that conviction alone.” Valek explained and Janco slammed his hand into the bars.

“Why wait until now to say anything?” Janco demanded. They could all have been spared so much grief and anguish had he told them all earlier. However, he knew the answer before Valek had even replied.

“A tactical decision.” He thought back to his training sessions with Yelena and remembered something he had said one day whilst they were sparring.  _ Keep your best moves close to your chest and only use them when you’ve nothing left _ . If they had managed to escape before now, he wouldn’t have needed to reveal the truth as he could have simply given Yelena some of the antidote. The antidote … if it wasn’t a poison, what had she been taking every morning? And what was causing her this pain?

“What about the cramps?” Yelena gasped, crying out with pain again. His grip tightened on the bars, the rusting metal digging into his palms. However, everything was beginning to make sense now.

“Withdrawal symptoms, isn’t it? From the antidote.” he asked, and Valek confirmed his guess.

“It’s an interesting concoction. I use it to make someone sick. As the potion wears off, it produces stomach cramps worthy of a day in bed. It’s perfect for putting someone temporarily out of commission without killing him. If you continue to drink it, like you have been every morning up until now, then the symptoms are forestalled until you stop.” Of course it was something Valek had created himself. He sounded so proud about it, despite the fact it was causing someone he supposedly cared about so much pain.

“What’s the name?” Yelena asked and Janco shook his head with bitter amusement. Even in complete agony, she was still asking questions, ever inquisitive.

“White Fright.”

“What about Butterfly’s Dust?”

“Doesn’t exist. I made it up. It sounded good. I needed some threat to keep the food tasters from running away without using guards or locked doors.”

“Does the Commander know that it’s a ruse?”

“No. He believes you’ve been poisoned.” So the only people to know the truth were those in this room. Everyone else, including Brazell and Mogkan believed that Yelena would be dead by morning. What a surprise they were going to get. She let out a quiet sob as another wave of pain hit and he dug his nails into his palms, trying to distract himself from the horror of what was happening. It didn’t work, and so he pushed himself up, moving to sit with his back to the bars between them.

“Yelena, it’s going to be okay. You’re strong. This is just like the My Love again, and that’s designed to  _ kill _ you. Yes, it’s going to be tough, but I know you can do this.” he murmured quietly. His words were met with retching and he buried his face in his hands. He heard Ari quietly asking Valek about the White Fright, asking how long it took to leave someone’s system, how bad the symptoms got, whether she would be okay on the other side. Valek’s replies were short and concise, but Janco was beginning to hear hints of worry in his voice.

The next few hours were tough. At least when she had been suffering from the My Love, he had been able to look after her and Valek had been able to give her his weird drinks to help alleviate her symptoms. But now they had bars separating them and she had to face the pain without any help. The cramps got worse, a lot worse, and she spent the night crawling about her cell retching and screaming. It was several hours in when light returned to the dungeons and through squinted eyes, he saw that it was Brazell and Mogkan back to see how Yelena was getting on. They came to a halt outside her cell and anger bubbled up inside him again. This was all their fault. She was suffering because of  _ them _ . Not because of Valek. If they had still had the antidote, Valek would have given it to her. He would have helped. But they had deliberately put her in this position. They had caused her pain, and now they needed to suffer for it.

He stood, moving towards the bars closest to them and was about to say something when Ari caught his eye and shook his head vigorously.  _ Stay calm _ , he mouthed and Janco seethed, fisting his hands. He couldn’t. Not when they were so close. Yelena’s scream only furthered his anger and he slammed his hand into the bars, the noise echoing out and drawing Mogkan’s attention.

“What’s going on here then?” he tilted his head and sneered at Janco. “Looks like someone is a little upset about the poison taster’s fate.” Moving closer to the bars he stared at Janco laughing to himself and Janco finally snapped. He shot forwards, spitting in Mogkan’s face who jerked backwards and clicked his fingers at the guards, two of whom split off. Ari jumped up from where he had been sat and started yelling at the guards, his words falling on deaf ears. One of the guards grabbed Janco, pulling his arms through the bars and holding him tight with his back against the bars as the other unlocked the cell and walked inside, reaching through the bars and locking the cell again, smirking at Janco as he did so. Before Janco even had a chance to react, the soldier had slammed his fist into Janco’s stomach and pain shot through him. He tried to fight against the soldier behind him but his grip was too strong.

“That’s enough.” Mogkan ordered and the guard paused, jabbing his fist into Janco’s face before retreating from the cell and locking it again. The guard finally let go of his arms and he collapsed to the ground, clutching at his nose to try and halt the steady flow of blood. He heard Mogkan snap at Ari, telling him to shut up unless he wanted to receive the same treatment and after a muttered comment from Valek, Ari went quiet. He could feel his partner seething, however. Yelena’s scream echoed again and with a final laugh from Brazell, the duo and their guards left the room and plunged the room into darkness.

Immediately Janco started swearing. “I’m going to kill him.”

“You need to stay calm around them.” Valek advised from the darkness. “You’re letting your anger get the better of you. You’re going to make a mistake, and you’ll end up worse than beaten up.”

“They still need to die.” Janco snapped, moving back to sit near the bars separating Yelena and himself. There was silence for a little while and then Valek spoke again, ice coating his words.

“Yes. Yes they do.”

\---

Another few hours had passed and Janco had started praying to anyone listening up there that Yelena’s symptoms would pass soon. She was curled up in her cell, sobbing and crying out in pain every so often. Turning to the side, he threaded his arm through the bars.

“Yelena,” he called softly. “Come closer.” There was silence and then rustling as she moved and he felt her move closer to him. Or it could have just been a very large rat. “Here, take my hand.” In the darkness, he could see her as she moved her arm and after a brief rustling, he felt her hand, freezing cold, grip his tightly. He threaded his fingers through hers and gave it a small squeeze. Crying out, she squeezed his hand tightly and he held on tight. Hopefully that just by letting her share her pain, even if it was just a tiny fraction, it would help. The four of them sat in broken silence for several more hours, Yelena’s screams dying down gradually until they were replaced with slow breaths that would occasionally catch. Her grip loosened slightly and he realised that she had fallen asleep. Good. She needed the rest.

“The symptoms should have mostly passed now.” Valek murmured quietly and Janco nodded to himself, resting his head on the bars behind him and slowly rubbing his thumb over the back of Yelena’s hand.

“Good.”


	20. Chapter 20

Janco was beginning to drift off when he was woken with a jolt by someone pulling on his hand. Yelena! He wiped his face with his free hand and turned.

“Are you alright?” He waited for her reply with bated breath and sagged with relief when the spoke, her voice no more than a croak.

“I think so.”

He didn’t get a chance to reply as a loud clang rang out. The prison door had been unlocked. Someone was coming, probably to see whether Yelena had died yet.

“Yelena, try to get them close to my cell. Play dead.” Valek whispered from across the corridor and Yelena murmured her acknowledgement, giving Janco’s hand a quick squeeze before letting go. Two guards came into the dungeon and Janco quickly moved away from the bars, sitting upright in the middle of his cell and glaring at the guards. They ignored him however and he squinted as their lanterns lit up the dungeon. Ari was lying against the far wall, a murderous look on his face and Janco couldn’t quite see Valek in his cell but guessed he was getting prepared for whatever plan he was about to enact.

“Damn! The stench down here’s worse than the latrine after a brew party.” One of the guards groaned and the other shone his light into Yelena’s cell.   
“You think she’s dead?” he asked, watching as the other guard crouched down and touched her hand.

“Cold as snow-cat piss. Let’s drag her out before she starts to rot. You think it smells bad now...”

The second guard reached for the keys that hung off his belt and fumbled for the correct one, inserting it into the lock and moving into Yelena’s cell. She was lying on the floor and if he hadn’t known better, he too would have assumed that she was dead. Her face was so pale it was almost blue, and she had dark rings beneath her eyes. Metal shrieked as the door to her cell was opened and the guard dragged her out by the feet. The guard with the lantern moved on ahead, heading towards the door, but as they passed Valek’s cell, Janco watched as Yelena seized the bars with both hands, gripping them tightly.

The guard jolted to a stop. “Ugh. Hold up, she’s stuck.”

Turning with a huff, the other guard held up his lantern. “On what?”

“I don’t know,” the first guard snapped. “Come back here with that bloody light.”

As the guard returned with the light, Yelena released her grip and instead hooked her arm inside the cell. Brandishing his light at Valek, the guard warned him to stay back and tugged at Yelena’s elbow to try and dislodge her grip. Something made him jerk and he dropped the lantern, plunging the room into darkness as the lantern extinguished itself upon hitting the floor.

“What the hell?” There was a noise of surprise and then a crunch as bone hit the stone. Janco shuddered at the sound. Amongst the chaos, he also heard the quiet wet snap of bone that sounded awfully like a neck being snapped. The jingle of keys followed and the lantern was relit, revealing the broken form of a guard leaning against Valek’s cell, who was standing in the corridor now. The other guard was crumpled at the bottom of the steps, a pool of blood beneath his head which was resting awkwardly against the bottom step. He must have hit his head on the step when he fell. Yelena stood nearby, trembling as she studied the man with wide eyes. She glanced up at Janco and he moved to the bars.

“Hey, it’s okay.” he encouraged quietly and she frowned at him, staring at his face. Wondering what it was she was looking at, he reached up and touched his face only to discover the flaking blood from the guard’s attack. Ah. Hopefully he could clean that off at some point.

Ari stood up and snatched the keys from the air as Valek threw them at him. Flicking through them to find the right one, he reached through the bars and unlocked the door. As he passed Yelena, he pulled her into a quick hug, whispering something into her ear before continuing on to Janco’s cell. As soon as he unlocked the door, Janco barged past him and pulled Yelena into a tight hug. She froze briefly but quickly returned it, gripping onto him tightly and burying her face in his chest. She was shaking.  “I have your things. However the last door out of here is locked. The Captain has the only key to the door, and he’ll only open it when it’s time to change the guards.”

Yelena and Janco both took their things from Valek, Yelena threading the butterfly necklace and that amulet around her neck before rummaging around in her bag, pulling out her lock picks.

“Try these.” Valek grinned and disappeared again. The two of them followed and found Ari standing by the door, his ear against it as he listened.

“I can’t hear anyone. I think we’re safe, for now.”

As Valek crouched down to pick the lock on the door, Yelena crossed the room to where a pitcher of water and a wash barrel stood. It didn’t take long for her to start dumping buckets of water over her head, the water washing off the blood and grime from her face and hands, her clothes soaking. She took several long sips and then paused, staring at the jug before turning to the others and offering it to them. Each of them took it in turns to take sips, Valek pausing in his lock picking to have a drink before returning to the lock. Once Janco had finished, spilling some onto his hand and wiping the dried blood off his face, he returned it to Yelena with a gentle smile. She was looking brighter now, and had stopped shaking; she no longer looked like she was going to collapse.

Valek finally cracked the lock and the door swung open, everyone holding their breath as he peered cautiously out and down the corridor. “Perfect. No guards.” He pushed the door wide open and turned back to the group. “Ari and I are going to go and look for the Commander. I’m worried about him, now that Brazell and Mogkan are no longer keeping up the ruse. Janco and Yelena, you stay here.”

“Are you insane? Freedom’s that way!” Yelena pointed at the door and frowned.

“It’s the perfect hiding spot,” Janco agreed and Yelena turned to him with an incredulous expression. “The mess we left will soon be discovered, the open doors proof we’ve fled. They’ll send out search parties to look for us, drawing soldiers out of the castle. We can then make a move once they’ve all gone.” Understanding lit up her eyes and she nodded.

“Won’t they find you and Ari though?” she asked, turning back to Valek and he shook his head with a grin, passing Ari a small pile of weapons that he had stripped from the guards’ bodies.

“Not if I can help it.” Ari nodded in agreement, fastening the various knives to his clothes. Janco stepped forwards, putting a hand on his partner’s shoulder.

“Good luck. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Ari snorted, “What, like spitting in Mogkan’s face?”

There was a noise of confusion from behind him and he realised that Yelena wasn’t aware of his encounter with the guards. That would be a fun story.

“Exactly.” he grinned and his partner shook his head, the smile fading and worry replacing it.

“Stay safe,” Ari turned to look at Yelena. “Both of you. We’ll see you on the other side.” With a brief wave, he disappeared down the corridor and Valek studied them briefly before nodding, passing Janco the lantern and following Ari, leaving them alone. Janco grabbed Yelena’s hand and led her back to the cells.

“Come on, we need to lay low.” He led her into the furthest cell from the door and extinguished the lantern, hiding it under the straw. Yelena stood there shivering, her clothes still dripping, and he kicked some straw into a make-shift bed in the darkest corner of the cell. He could barely see her but he could still hear her rapid breathing. Reaching forwards to take her hand, he guided her to the floor. “Down you go. ”

He couldn’t see her face, but he could almost feel her raising an eyebrow at him and he grinned, Yelena lay down on the straw, turning her back to him, and Janco clambered down next to her, grabbing handfuls of straw and tossing them on top of them in an attempt to provide some form of cover. She was still shaking like mad, and he bit his lip, unsure of what to do. He was the obvious source of warmth, but would she want him to be so close? Cursing the situation, he reached forwards and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. She stiffened and he clenched his jaw. Of course he had chosen the wrong choice. He was about to let go when to his surprise she relaxed again and leant back into him. She slowly stopped shivering and he could feel her heart racing as they lay there in silence. Or maybe that was his own heart. Who knew anymore?

Angry voices yelled in the corridor, accusations and swearing. The noise was deafening and he found himself tucking closer to Yelena as if he could protect her more that way. He held his breath every time the footsteps neared, fearing that they would check all the cells. However he needn’t have worried. No-one came near them. Instead Mogkan and Brazell stood in the corridor arguing over which way they would have taken.

“Valek’s probably retreating west to well-known territory.” Brazell argued but Mogkan disagreed, insisting that he would have gone South.

“We have the Commander; there’s nothing they can do. They’re running for their lives, not toward some strategic position. I’ll take a horse and scan the forest with my magic.”

Several hours passed and everything had fallen silent. Yelena was starting to fidget, letting out quiet, shaky sighs.

“Can we go now?” she whispered and Janco shook his head, chuckling quietly.

“We need to wait until dark. It’s still daylight. You’re so impatient.”

She let out an indignant huff and he smirked. “I want to get out of here!”

“Why, is there somewhere else you’d rather be? Someone else you want to be with? Ari perhaps? Or maybe even Valek.” She elbowed him in the side and he laughed quietly, a small part of him relieved however that she hadn’t said yes.

“We could get caught. We’re sitting ducks here.”

“They’ll never think of checking back in here. We could be hours away by now, so that’s where they’ll be looking. In their eyes, only an idiot would stay in the castle.”

“I guess we’re idiots then.” She huffed but he could sense that she was smiling. Smiling himself, he was surprised when she threaded her fingers through his own, gripping the hand that held her close around the waist.

“Some of the biggest ones out there.”

There was a long pause, although he was quite content just lying there, the scent of lavender being all he could smell with his nose almost buried in her hair. It was a calming smell, one that he now associated with happiness and peace. However, much to his amusement, she couldn’t stay quiet for long and eventually broke the silence.

“How did you end up working for the Commander?”

“Let’s see. I grew up on the streets. I have no idea who my father is, and my mother was sick or drunk all the time, so she was in no position to look after me. I stole food, clothes, whatever I needed. I got into fights with the other men on the streets, most of whom would try and steal whatever I had, thinking that because I was a child I was easy pickings. However, I was quick and sharp, and I usually got the better of them. Had my nose broken a couple of times though, and some broken ribs. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed with some bandages and a lot of alcohol. I taught myself to pick locks, using pieces of metal that I found on the street or stole, like women’s hairpins. They make brilliant lock picks, by the way. But I got too cocky, too confident, and one day I tried to break into this man’s house. I had been watching him for a week and had discovered he had a large collection of gems, which I was desperate to get my hands on. It was a trap though, and as soon as I broke in, I found myself surrounded by guards. It was Valek that gave me the choice though; become a soldier or be locked up forever, and as you can probably guess, I chose being locked up forever.” Yelena snorted and he grinned.

“Aren’t they worried you’ll steal more things from around the castle? There are some pretty impressive vases dotted about the corridors.”

He chuckled. “Pretty sure someone would notice if I walked out of the castle with one of those stuffed under my shirt. I can hardly play the pregnant woman card.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Some of your screams are pretty womanly.”

Janco laughed, thinking back to one of their training sessions where a rat had suddenly run under his feet. Not expecting it, he had jumped back, letting out a panicked scream. Ari, Yelena and Maren had been unable to continue the training session as they had been laughing so much. They fell back into silence, and he decided that now was the time to tell her. Now or never. He had to tell her how he felt, otherwise he might never get the chance.

“No. The only thief around here is you.” He murmured and she let out a confused noise, making him smile. “Yelena, you’ve completely and utterly stolen my heart.” She exhaled sharply and he held his breath.

“You shouldn’t have taught me to pick locks then. That  _ was  _ rather careless of you.” She smirked and his heart dropped. Was it possible that she felt the same way about him? He carefully rolled her over to face her and lay there, studying her face. Her cheeks were flushed and she was breathing quickly. Before he had a chance to change his mind, to chicken out, he moved forwards and kissed her. He almost sobbed with relief when she wrapped her arms around his neck to return his kiss with the same passion. Everything disappeared from his awareness, the cell, the prison, the manor. For now, it was just him and her. As he wanted it to always be. 

\---

He knew he needed to stop grinning like an idiot, but he couldn’t. He was just so happy. Despite the situation, despite the fact that they still might die, his mind was almost solely focused on the fact that Yelena felt the same way about him as he did her. He offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet, and brushed the pieces of straw out of his clothing as she adjusted her uniform. A piece of straw had become entwined with her hair and he reached forwards, gently brushing it out. 

“We need to go and find Ari and Valek.” he murmured, his gaze lingering in hers. Realising that they couldn’t just keep standing there, he grabbed her hand and together they raced through the cells, stopping by the guardroom for green and black uniforms. They had almost reached the West wing of the manor when Janco heard a familiar grunt from behind him and he grinned, pulling Yelena into the shadows. The walls were lined with heavy drapes, providing a narrow walkway for servants so that they could stay out of the way of those in the manor, and he guided her under the heavy material. As he followed her, he heard Ari chuckle and he smiled, ducking under to see her wrapped in one of Ari’s bear hugs. Valek was crouched nearby, sorting through his bag and assessing various different weapons, giving Janco only a brief glance before returning to his bag. When Ari saw his partner he quickly released Yelena and grabbed Janco, pulling him into a quick bone-crushing hug before releasing him and jabbing him in the gut. He groaned, doubling over as pain shot through him.

“What the hell?”

“What took you so long? It’s been dark for ages. We were wondering what had happened to you!”

Janco glanced at Yelena who was trying to avoid his gaze, looking slightly flushed, and Ari followed his gaze. He glanced back at his partner and rolled his eyes, trying to hide his growing smirk. “ _ Seriously _ ?”

Shrugging, Janco straightened again and moved closer to Yelena, brushing his hand against hers. She threaded her fingers through his and offered Ari an embarrassed smile, making him chuckle.

“Finally.”

There was a rustling as Valek stood up and he gave the group a quick glance, his gaze resting on their linked hands before shrugging his bag back onto his shoulder.

“We need to find the Commander.”

Yelena dropped Janco’s hand suddenly and he glanced down, confused. She had gone very pale and looked a little like she was about to fall over. He was about to ask if she was okay when she spoke up, avoiding his gaze.

“Um, I need to tell you something before we find him actually. It’s about magic.”

Janco swore he had never met such a surprising person. She was completely and utterly unpredictable. She proceeded to tell them about the encounters and conversations she had been having with the Sitian Master magician, Irys. He gaped at her as she explained how one time she had even spoken to the magician when he and Ari had been in the room, completely oblivious to the magician’s presence. He shuddered at the thought of having been under the magician’s control without even realising. Yelena went on to explain how the magician might be able to help them, her hands clenched by her sides. She looked slightly sick, likely fearing their reaction. He couldn’t quite believe it. She was a magician. His heart raced as he tried to process the news. Magic was outlawed in Ixia, for a good reason. It was dangerous. They had seen that with Mogkan. They were defenceless against them. But with Yelena it was different, right? He shook his head. Of course it was. She had had the opportunity to use her powers at any point, even if she didn’t quite have the strongest grip on them. She could have forced them to release her. To let her escape. Doubt pulsed through him. Were his feelings for her genuine? Or were they simply an illusion? Anger raged through him at the thought. How could he possibly think such a thing? He hated himself for having even let the thought cross his mind. This was  _ Yelena  _ he was thinking about. The woman who had completely captured his heart and had become the only person, other than Ari, to be so important to him.

Yelena had stopped talking and they all stood there in silence for a brief moment, just looking at her as she shifted uncomfortably. Ari looked as stunned as Janco felt, and Valek was stone-faced as usual. “Do you trust her?” Janco asked, and she nodded. He still wasn’t particularly happy at the thought of working with a magician that he had never really met and had no reason to trust, but he supposed Yelena’s word was good enough for him. He nodded and moved closer to her, threading his fingers back through hers. She glanced up at him in surprise, visibly sagging with relief. Ari just shrugged and moved to stand closer to them. Janco flashed a grin at his partner and got a small smile in return. Everyone turned their gaze to Valek, and Janco held his breath as he waited for his boss’ reaction.

“Is there anything else you haven’t told us?” Valek finally asked, his voice steady, giving no clues of his thoughts. Yelena shook her head.

“No, I’ve told you everything now.”

Valek nodded, and after moving his gaze to focus on Janco for a few intense moments, he shifted the bag on his shoulder.

“So what’s the plan?”

Everyone looked at one another, waiting for someone to speak first, but much to Janco’s surprise, it was Yelena who spoke up. A small smile played on his lips. Of course she had a plan. She explained that she had spoken with Irys, arranging to meet her nearby and she turned to Ari and Janco with a small frown.

“I need you two to protect Irys with everything you have. It’s very important.”

Janco nodded. “Yes, sir.” Ari nodded in agreement. Valek focused on Yelena, eyes focused as he analysed the plan.

“You have a strategy?”

“Yes.” Yelena nodded, her voice confident. She didn’t look it.

“Tell us.”

She proceeded to outline a surprisingly detailed plan, involving the four of them and Irys. Janco had no idea if it would work, but any plan was better than no plan. Ari often told him that that was actually not the case and sometimes a stupid plan was worse than no plan, but Janco disagreed. At least if you died enacting a stupid plan, people couldn’t accuse you of jumping into a situation without a thought. You weren’t insane; you were just stupid. One Yelena had finished explaining her plan, Valek nodded a couple of times.

“Okay.” He moved forwards and lifted the drapes to leave the small corridor. When no-one moved, he gestured to the hole he had made. “Come on then.” With that, he disappeared. Ari followed close after, pausing briefly to give Yelena a comforting squeeze on the shoulder, before ducking under the drapes and leaving Yelena and Janco alone. She moved to leave under the curtains but he took her gently by the arm and turned her back to face him.

“I know what I’ve said in the past about magicians,” she glanced away and he took her by the chin, guiding her gaze back to him. “But, clearly I was too quick to judge. Magicians aren’t all bad, there are some exceptions to the rule. Like a certain person standing before me.” He leaned forwards and kissed her forehead. “Please though, tell me everything from now on. I’m not sure how much more my heart can take. I’m now constantly on edge expecting you to reveal something else about yourself.” He let out a mock gasp and frowned. “You’re not naturally blonde or something are you?”

He chuckled quietly as she hit him, a smile flashing across her face before she buried her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around him. He hugged her back tightly, burying his nose in her hair and breathing in deeply, before whispering something which he had realised a long time ago.

“I love you.”

\---

Ari paced anxiously, waiting for Janco and Yelena to emerge. Valek had already gone ahead down the corridor to try and find the right room. If this was going to happen every time they were left alone together, they were going to have problems. A rustling from the drapes drew his attention and he watched as Yelena ducked under the curtain being held up for her, closely followed by his partner. Both were flushed and grinning like idiots. He bit his lip, trying to hide his own smile. It delighted him no end to see his two best friends looking so happy, and in love with one another, but wow did they have bad timing. Now  _ really  _ was not the time.

“If you keep this up, I’m just going to leave you behind.” he snapped and Yelena grimaced, mouthing an apology. He just glared at Janco over her head and his partner scowled back. They moved down the corridor and found Valek outside the Commander’s room, crouched on the floor and working on the lock. When he heard the others approaching, he gave them the signal to split up. Ari stepped to one side, sighing inwardly as Janco looked immediately at Yelena with a worried expression.

“Are you sure -” Janco started quietly but Yelena cut him off with a gentle whisper, glancing at Ari with a smile.

“Yes. Now get going. Irys is going to be wondering where you are.”

Ari smirked, relieved that Yelena had enough sense to cut the parting short and he grabbed his partner by the arm. “Come  _ on,  _ Janco,” he hissed. “I’m going to have died of old age by the time you start moving.”

Janco snorted, moving to walk alongside Ari. “You won’t have to wait long for that, grandpa.” With one final glance back at Yelena and a brief wave goodbye, he turned back to the corridor ahead and Ari 

They continued down the corridors, following the instructions Yelena had given them and they arrived at a small room, in which the Sitian Master magician stood patiently. She raised an eyebrow when she saw them.

“What took you so long? Yelena said you’d be here several minutes ago.”

Ari frowned, briefly wondering how she had spoken to Yelena already when he remembered Yelena mentioning something about a mental link. He wasn’t particularly surprised that she was from Sitia, given her darker colouring, but the magician side of things had thrown him. Not that he minded of course. Her being a magician didn’t change what he thought of her, and he had been more than relieved to see that it clearly didn’t bother Janco that much either. He doubted it would have ever happened, but he didn’t think he could have forgiven his friend if he had reacted negatively towards Yelena’s news. It would have broken her heart, and whilst Janco was like a brother to him, Yelena was also one of his best friends and like a sister to him and he wouldn’t let  _ anyone  _ hurt her.

“Apologies. A few things held us up.” Ari muttered, casting his partner a pointed look who deliberately ignored him. Irys cast Janco a piercing gaze for a moment before gesturing to the door.

“We need to get to Reyad’s corridor.”

Beside him, Janco shuddered and his heart dropped. It had been hard enough hearing about those poor men and women, let alone seeing them in person. Pulling their swords from their sheaths, they made their way down the corridor with Ari leading and Janco taking the rear until they finally arrived at the corridor Janco had previously explored with Yelena. As if their minds had been read, there were a dozen guards waiting for them and Ari immediately took a defensive stance, his partner doing the same.

Instantly they charged, meeting Ari’s attacks with their own blows and slashes of their blades. He attacked carefully, taking on several opponents at the same time and watching their fighting styles before responding accordingly. Several of the men seemed untrained, simply attacking aggressively with poorly timed blows which were easy to block. The man closest to him wasn’t holding his sword properly and so Ari brought the hilt of his own down onto the man’s hands and the sword clattered to the ground, leaving the man looking startled. A quick blow to the head and he was crumpled in a heap.

He glanced beside him at Irys who was sending out slashes of fire, the flames curling around the soldier’s hands and making the hilts grow red hot. They screamed in pain, dropping their weapons and with a sharp flick of her wrists, they flew backwards, slamming into the walls and dropping to the floor with a heavy thud. Impressive.

Janco was busy darting about three soldiers of his own, ducking under their blows and slashing at their knees. They dropped to their knees with a cry and he hit he grabbed two of them by their collars, slamming their heads together. Ari’s attention was drawn back to Irys as a soldier ran to attack her from behind, taking advantage of her distracted state. Grabbing a knife from his belt, Ari flung it at the soldier and it struck him in the heart, stopping him in his tracks.

“Irys, I’ll clear you a path.” he yelled, and Irys nodded, flinging another flame at an oncoming attacker. He swung his sword upwards, blocking one coming down from above and spun around, knocking it out of the soldier’s hands before slamming them into the wall. Grunting, he cut through the crowd of soldiers around him, Irys following close behind and helping by taking out a few men herself. Eventually, they reached the door and Irys burst inside, Ari standing guard and stopping the soldiers who lunged after Irys.

Janco was still darting about, taking down the soldiers around him and throwing rhyming insults at them as he did so. Taking advantage of his momentarily distracted state, a soldier lunged for Ari and slammed his hilt into Ari’s hand, forcing him to drop his sword. It clattered to the floor, instantly getting lost in the brawl and Ari’s eyes widened as he realised he was now weaponless. He had lost all of his knives in the process of the fight. The soldier sneered at him, lunging and slamming his sword into the door as Ari ducked at the last minute.

“Heads up!” He heard Janco yell and watched as his partner lobbed an axe at him. He realised it had been an ornamental display on the wall. What kind of idiot kept real weapons on the wall. Having practiced throwing weapons to one another time after time, he caught it with ease and slammed it into the chest on an oncoming attacker. It sliced right into him, slowing as it passed through the man’s chest and he quickly yanked it back out, watching as the man fell to the ground. A cry of pain caught his attention and his heart stopped. One of the soldiers had attacked Janco whilst he had been throwing the axe and had run him through with his sword which was now lodged in Janco’s stomach. His partner had gone pale and was staring at the soldier with wide eyes.

“Janco!” Ari bellowed, furiously swinging the axe at the soldier attacking from beside him. He hadn’t wanted to kill, but no-one hurt Janco and survived. He hacked his way through the crowd of soldiers, reaching the soldier beside Janco just as he reached to pull the sword back out. With one sharp swing, the soldier was beheaded and his body and head fell to the floor with a wet thump.

Janco fell to his knees and Ari jumped to block an attacking soldier. There were only a few left now and Ari was seeing red. He span the axe, slicing through the oncoming soldiers. They screamed with pain as he cut off limbs but the screams fell on deaf ears. All he cared about was keeping Janco safe from any more harm. Finally, the last soldier fell and they were alone, surrounded by bodies. He immediately dropped the axe and crouched down beside Janco, pulling him into his lap. Janco had gone almost green, his face covered with a thin sheen of sweat and he was barely breathing.

“Stay with me. Come on Janco, don’t die.” Janco didn’t respond and Ari started panicking. No, he couldn’t lose Janco. Not now. Not ever. He turned towards the door Irys had slipped through.

“Irys,” he yelled. “Help! Please.” His voice broke and he called out for her again. Eventually the door opened and she peered out of the room, her eyes widening as she saw Janco. She hurried over to him and pressed her fingers against his neck. Her eyes glazed over a little and then she blinked, returning her gaze to Ari.

“I’ve called for Yelena to come. I’m sorry but there’s little else I can do.”

“You have magic! Heal him!” Ari begged and Irys shook her head.

“I don’t have those kinds of powers. You need a healer, fast.”

Ari grunted. “I can’t leave him here. I have to stay with him.”

“Yelena will bring one. Don’t worry. We need to move him however. He can’t stay here in the hall. Help me lift him into the room with Mogkan’s prisoners. I can put up certain protections.”

Reluctantly Ari stood, carefully lifting Janco with Irys’ help into the side room. He supported the sword, trying to minimise Janco’s pain, but he still cried out weakly as they moved him. Once out of the corridor, he quickly returned to the floor and helped rest Janco on his side with his head in Ari’s lap. Iry’s dropped Ari’s axe beside him, muttering something about more soldiers may attack, before returning to the circle of prisoners and sitting cross-legged in the middle, her eyes glazing over as she continued to try and help them.

“Come on Janco. Stay with me.” he begged, searching his friend’s face for any sign of recognition or awareness. The minutes crawled by like hours until eventually, they heard footsteps. He was reaching for the axe when he heard Yelena’s voice and sagged with relief. She burst in through the doorway, Valek in close pursuit, and came to an abrupt halt when she saw Janco. Her face paled, her eyes widening as she started to shake.

“No, no, no….” she murmured, dropping to the ground beside Ari and taking Janco’s hand in her own. She glanced at Ari with desperate eyes and his heart broke even more. There was so much suffering. He could see his own pain reflected in her eyes and he longed to be able to give her good news, but there wasn’t any. A short man in healer’s uniform barged past Yelena and crouched beside them, checking Janco’s pulse. He turned to Valek, trying to complain about wanting to heal his own men first but with an icy glare from Valek he returned to Janco.

“I need to get him to the infirmary.” he finally decided, glancing at Yelena. “You need medical attention too.”

She tried to brush him off but Ari noticed the blood on her torn shirt, right across her stomach.

“No Yelena. You need to be seen to.” She tried to argue back but he shook his head. “Janco would insist.”

At that she fell silent, and whilst he felt guilty using his friend to blackmail her, he knew that it was true. Janco would never forgive him if Yelena fell ill or died from an untreated cut. He was a soldier, he knew what could happen if you didn’t look after wounds. Even the smallest of cuts could become killers with the right infection.


	21. Chapter 21

Yelena sat hunched on a chair next to Janco’s bed, his hand clasped tightly in her own and her head resting on the bed. His face was still clammy and deathly pale, his breathing shallow and sporadic. Ari sat on the other side of the bed, his head in his hands. The medic kept coming into the room, to check on Janco but he appeared to be making little progress and the doctor had several times turned to them with a grim face to warn them that he might not make it. Yelena was shattered but she didn’t dare close her eyes for fear of falling asleep. The thought of drifting off and waking up to find Janco dead was unthinkable. She jolted as he shifted in his unconscious daze, letting out a small cry of pain that cut right through her. Ari caught her eye, his face mirroring her fears.

“Janco, we’re here. Ari and me, Yelena. You’re going to be okay.” she murmured quietly, gripping his hand tighter. He shifted again, the thin sheet covering him falling further down his waist and she glanced at the bandages tied tightly around his stomach. Her heart sank as she spotted fresh blood blooming through the material.

“I’ll go and get the medic, ask him to change the bandages.” Ari murmured, standing up and reaching across to put a hand on Yelena’s which was still clutching Janco’s. He stayed there for a moment, just the three of them sharing the same pain, before disappearing out of the room and leaving Janco and Yelena alone. She turned for the bucket that had been placed nearby, filled with cold water with a cloth tossed inside. Letting go of Janco’s hand briefly, she wrung the cloth out and pressed it against his forehead, wiping his matted hair off his forehead. It was cruel symmetry, being at his bedside unable to do anything for him, just as he had been when she had been suffering through the effects of My Love. Were they really fated to forever be at one another’s bedside while the other was on the brink of death? This was all her fault. She should have persuaded him to return to the Commander’s castle, where he would be safe. This wasn’t his fight, and she should never have gotten him involved. If he died, she could never forgive herself.

“Come on Janco, you can do this. Pull through, for me, for Ari.” She closed her eyes and focused on trying to share her energy and strength with him. Perhaps she could give him his, use her magic, and help him. She had to be able to do something.

Her attention was drawn back to the door as Ari hurtled back through, followed closely by the medic who was scowling. He was still unhappy about being forced to treat Janco but kept quiet thanks to the occasional threat from Valek when he dropped by to see how Janco was doing, the medic continued to treat Janco. He bustled to the bed, trying to shoo Yelena away but gave up when Ari glared at him and sighed, pulling out fresh bandages and starting to remove the old ones. He muttered to himself, studying the wound and the stitches he had applied, before pulling out a small vial of liquid. He loosened the lid and poured it carefully on the wound, pushing down on Janco’s chest to try and keep him still as he began to writhe in pain.

“What are you doing? Why is he in more pain?” Ari demanded, stepping forwards and looming over the medic. The medic glanced up at him, paling slightly before returning his attention back to Janco.  
“The liquid is for cleaning the cut. I’m trying to prevent it from becoming infected, and I’m trying to make sure that the blood is clotting. At the moment the slightest movement seems to be making the wound bleed.”

Yelena gasped as she felt Janco’s hand tighten around hers and she glanced up at Ari who had been staring at their clasped hands with surprise. Was he getting better? The medic slipped the now empty bottle into his pocket and began to wrap the new bandages around the wound, getting Ari to help move Janco carefully as they wrapped them round and round his waist.

“You know you’re really in the way there.” The medic sneered at Yelena and she was about to respond when someone cleared their throat from behind the medic and then spoke, their voice icy cold.

“Are you done?” It was Valek and as the medic turned, Yelena saw her boss standing there with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed as he stared down at the medic, who shrunk under his piercing hand. The medic mumbled something and hurried out of the room, leaving the four of them alone. Valek’s face immediately softened and he glanced at Janco with concern.

“How is he doing?”

“He’s alive. Just.” Yelena murmured and his head dropped. He glanced up again, mouth opening as if about to say something but then he paused and shook his head.

“Yell if you need anything.” he instructed and then disappeared back out of the room. Ari glanced at Yelena for a moment before pushing himself up out of his chair. He looked exhausted, they both did, and he still had dried blood splattered on his clothes. Again, they both did. She didn’t know whose it was. An enemy soldier’s? Her own? Janco’s? He moved the chair around the bed with him and placed it alongside her own, sitting down again with a quiet sigh and putting an arm around her pulling her in close.

“I can’t lose him.” she gasped, blinking as her vision blurred. Ari’s hand tightened and he shifted, resting his head against hers, tucking her in closer.

“I know. Neither of us can.” There was a pause as they sat in silence, Yelena’s breaths catching every so often. “Has he ever told you about how we met?”

“No he hasn’t.” Yelena murmured and there was another pause before he spoke again.

“I had been here for at least five years before Janco arrived, but I kept mainly to myself. Not to say that I didn’t have any friends, I got on with everyone, but no-one particularly stuck out or made the effort, and I was too busy concentrating on becoming a better soldier and training to make the effort myself. However, one morning I arrived at the yard to find a crowd, all yelling and cheering at something. When I finally shoved through the crowd I found one of the bullies from the regiment beating up this lanky idiot who barely looked old enough to join the army. And the stupid thing was, despite the fact he was pitifully outmatched, he was trying to fight back. He didn’t back down, or give up. I stepped in and received a broken nose for my efforts. However together we managed to take down this bully and the crowd eventually dispersed, bored now that they weren’t watching someone be unfairly beaten up.”

“I then turned to him, found out his name was Janco, and discovered that he was, as I had predicted, a complete idiot. Having been drafted into the army, the first thing he did was challenge someone to a fight. And despite his bloodied face and broken ribs, he was still grinning. It was then that I realised that unless someone kept an eye on him, he would get himself killed. And so I made myself his very reluctant mentor.”

“Slowly I realised there was a lot more below the surface, more than just his carefree facade that he liked to put on, and we moved from just being mentor and student, to becoming close friends. Especially after I realised he had my back, something which he’s proved again and again.” He stiffened slightly and Yelena pulled back to look at his face, which had darkened with guilt. She took his hand in hers.

“Hey, what happened isn’t your fault. Don’t even begin to blame yourself.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, instead just staring at his friend lying before them. “He was helping me when it happened. If I had been more careful, if I hadn’t have dropped my sword-”

“If I hadn't been forced to come on this trip, if I hadn’t have asked you to train me, if I hadn’t been chosen for the training exercise, if I hadn’t been the poison taster. Ari, both of us can play this game, but it will get us nowhere. If Janco hadn’t thrown you a weapon then, you probably would have been killed there and then, and I’m fairly sure the grief of losing his best friend would have been the end of Janco. I would have lost both of you, and Janco would have blamed himself for your death. How would that have helped anyone Ari? Don’t blame yourself for Janco’s choices.”

He stared at her for a moment, before pulling her into a bone aching hug. “What would I do without you?” he muttered and she laughed quietly.

“Not have to try and take down evil magicians for a start.”

He sighed and pulled away. “I’m going to check on Valek and Irys. I’ll be back later. Let me know if anything changes, won’t you?” She nodded and with a brief kiss on the top of her head, he walked away. She watched him leave, before settling back into her chair and closing her eyes, her head nodding forwards. All that stuff about not blaming yourself made her shake her head. She wasn’t one to talk. Janco would be safe at the castle if she had never gotten herself involved with the Power Twins. But then she would never have gained two of the best friends she had ever had, and then more. She couldn’t imagine her life without Janco now.

She was so lost in thought that she jumped several feet when she felt a hand weakly grip her own, which had been resting on the bed. Opening her eyes, they quickly widened when she looked directly into Janco’s open eyes which were studying hers closely. They were filled with pain and exhaustion but that familiar glint of amusement still sparked within them.

“Sleeping on the job?” A weak smile spread across his face and she almost cried at the sight. He was awake. He was going to be okay. Especially if he was able to insult her upon waking up. Letting out a small cry of relief, she leant forwards and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tearful kiss. He let out a grunt of pain but quickly wrapped his own arm around her neck. She pulled back slightly, their noses almost touching.

“I thought I had lost you.”

“Same,” he whispered. “I was so worried … that I wouldn’t ever see you again.” He grimaced as he tried to speak and she shook her head, pressing her fingers to his lips.

“You need rest. I’ll get the medic, and tell Ari you’re awake. He’s been so worried.”

Janco smirked slightly, opening his mouth as if to say more, but then closed it again and nodded, his eye twitching slightly. She pressed another kiss to his lips and with a smile, left the room. Hurrying down the corridor, she headed straight to one of the nearby rooms which had become a temporary meeting room and burst through the doors. Ari stood up immediately, panic flooding his face.

“What’s happened?” he demanded and Yelena shook her head, realising he was assuming the worst.

“He’s awake, and talking. He’s going to be okay. Go and see him whilst I get the medic.”

Ari stumbled with relief, a wide grin crossing his face as he hurried to the door and raced down the corridor towards his friend..

\---

God it hurt. Everything hurt. He could barely move, barely breath, without it hurting. He hadn’t felt pain like this before. Not even when he had had half his ear sliced off. But he was awake. And alive, just. He couldn’t remember much of what had happened, only that he had been throwing Ari an axe when he had suddenly felt an agonising fire burn through him and everything had been in flashes since then. The clash of metal as Ari cut through the rest of the soldiers. The sharp smell of sweat and dirt as he lay in Ari’s lap. The warmth, when everything else had been so cold, from Yelena’s hand gripping his own.

Yelena. He had almost closed his eyes again upon waking up, not quite sure that he wasn’t dreaming. He still couldn’t quite believe it, that she cared for him back. He was convinced that something would happen and he would realise that he had been wrong. That it was all some terrible joke or misunderstanding. He groaned with frustration and closed his eyes. He could at least enjoy it whilst it lasted.

“Janco!” A familiar voice drew his attention and he opened his eyes to see Ari standing over him with a wide grin on his face. Before Janco even had a chance to react, his friend had pulled him into one of his hugs and again, despite the pain, he tried to return it. When Ari finally pulled back he sat down in the chair beside the bed where Yelena had been, the grin disappearing from his face suddenly. “I thought I had lost you. We both did.”

“Not quite yet.” Janco murmured, still struggling to speak. He was so tired. However, given he had thought he would never see Yelena and Ari again, he wasn’t about to send either of them away to get sleep. He could sleep later. He raised his arm weakly and gestured to his stomach. “Yelena, she had a bandage here. What happened?”

Ari scowled. “That bastard Brazell tried to gut her. Luckily she was fast and he only managed to give her a shallow gash. It’s been treated, don’t worry. That was the first thing I made her do.”

Janco smirked, relaxing back into his bed with relief. Of course Ari had. He needn’t have worried - as long as Yelena had Ari around, she would always be safe. “Thank you.” He murmured and Ari snorted.

“You think I did it for you? I did it for myself. If you had both died I would have had no-one to spar with. I needed at least one of you to survive and she seemed like a better bet.” He grinned and Janco rolled his eyes, satisfied however that Ari had appreciated his thanks. His friend leaned forwards in his chair and grinned. “I can’t believe you two are finally together. I don’t have to listen to you pining over her all day now. No more ‘hey Ari how does my hair look’ and ‘Ari do you think I should say something today’ or -”

“If I could move closer, I would punch you.”

Ari burst out laughing and put a hand on Janco’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Really though, I’m thrilled for you both. Anyway, I’m going to go and let you sleep now because you look awful.”

“Thanks.” Ari chuckled and pushed himself up out of the chair, beginning to move away before stopping again. He didn’t turn to look at Janco, instead focusing on the floor.

“Hey, I’m sorry by the way.”

Janco frowned. “What for?”

“You wouldn’t be here if I hadn't messed up. You were throwing the axe to me when you got skewered.”

Janco snorted, and immediately regretted it as pain shot through him. “Don’t be so stupid. I would choose getting skewered over you dying any day. You’re too important to me. I would never forgive myself if I had let you die, just because I was too busy trying to protect myself.”

Finally looking up from the ground, Ari smiled gently. “You know, that’s pretty much what Yelena said you would say.”

“Well then. I’m doubly right.” Janco was touched that Yelena clearly understood him, and his relationship with Ari, enough to speak correctly for him. Just went to show how he wasn’t wrong for falling for her. He had dated girls in the past all of whom had tried to put themselves between him and Ari. They just didn’t understand. They complained that he spent too much time with him, and that he should spend more time with them. They tried to tell him that Ari was just another soldier. Just a friend. But Yelena understood. She understood that they needed one another to be the best they could be. It wasn’t just Ari or Janco. It was Ari  _ and  _ Janco.

Ari nodded in agreement and after another brief pause, he gave Janco one last grin and disappeared out the room. Wow, what a day. Janco sighed and settled back into his pillow, closing his eyes and promptly falling back into a deep sleep.

\---

Several days passed and Janco found himself almost constantly with a companion by his side. It was usually Yelena or Ari, but when they were busy he was surprised to find Valek or Irys taking the seat beside him. They didn’t speak to him as often but he still appreciated their company. Even if Irys scared him a little. There was just something so intimidating about her, especially as she seemed to radiate power. She didn’t stay for long each time, as she was busy with the prisoners and the Commander. Valek would chat with him about fighting tactics, a surprising choice of conversation for an infirmary but Janco appreciated the effort and it took away the boredom of lying in bed all day. He was in the middle of debating a certain attack when the door opened and Yelena walked in with a smile on her face. She turned, telling someone to wait there, before continuing into the room.

“Are you seriously discussing fighting tactics?”

“Yes.” Valek grinned, but the smile quickly faded. “Any progress with the Commander?”

Yelena shook her head sadly and Valek sagged, standing up and bidding them farewell before disappearing out through the door. Yelena took his place in the chair.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand, studying her carefully. 

“Better. Slowly getting there. The medic says I might be able to leave the bed and walk around a bit in a couple of days.”

“That’s great news.” Yelena grinned and then glanced back at the door. “I brought someone to meet you by the way. May?”

A young girl bounced through the door, approaching the bed cautiously. Her hair was tied in a messy ponytail and everything about her had a chaotic vibe. Janco offered a smile and she quickly returned it.

“Hello.” She stuck out her hand and he took it, giving it a firm shake. “I’m May, I’m a friend of Yelena’s from the orphanage.”

Ah. This must have been one of the girls who didn’t have magical abilities, or hadn’t been old enough to present them. His heart went out to her. She must have lost so many friends. She didn’t seem to have let it get to her though and instead she wore a bright smile on her face.

“Nice to meet you, May. I’m Janco, from the Commander’s castle. I’m Yelena’s…” He trailed off as he didn’t know what to refer to himself as. He glanced at Yelena but she didn’t meet his eye, her cheeks red. May however was grinning and let out a delighted laugh.

“I know what you are. You’re her lovveerr.” She giggled and Yelena rolled her eyes.

“May!”

Janco snorted. This girl was as mischievous as he was.

“I’m Yelena’s very good friend.” He stuck his tongue out at her and she collapsed into giggles again. He glanced at Yelena and smiled as he watched her watch May with a soft smile, a peacefulness to her that he hadn’t seen for a while.

\---

“It’s obvious that the children in Brazell’s orphanage were kidnapped from Sitia.” Irys had come to visit Yelena, and him, Janco supposed, in the infirmary and was explaining the current situation to them. “Mogkan’s ring of child thieves spaced their abductions far enough apart to avoid detection. Magic is usually stronger in women, and that explains why there are more girls. The kidnappers targeted bloodlines where magic was present, although they took a gamble with children that young. There’s no way to be sure the power will develop. Mogkan and Brazell must have planned this for a long time.”

He shuddered. What a vile pair they were. He had been more than relieved to hear that Mogkan was dead. That bastard wouldn’t be able to taunt and hurt Yelena anymore. He couldn’t imagine anyone being so sick as to kidnap young children just so they could be harvested for their power. The children hadn’t deserved that. No-one did. These children had been ripped from loving families and made to feel used and unloved. Their childhoods taken from them, that is if they survived. Not everyone was as strong as Yelena, and even then, a small part of her had been lost forever. It was just as well Reyad was already dead, otherwise he would have hunted the man down and made him pay, and there wasn’t anything or anyone that could have stopped him. Brazell deserved a similar fate. However he had conceded to Ari’s logic who, upon telling him as such, had explained how murdering Brazell before Valek had had a chance to properly interrogate him wouldn’t go down well and may threaten the life of the Commander. He had pouted.

“Finding your family shouldn’t be too difficult.” Irys continued and Janco smiled as Yelena glanced at the magician in shock. She had gone completely pale and looked like she was about to fall over. It made sense though that her family would be from Sitia. Her skin was naturally slightly darker than the rest of them and she always tanned instead of burning, something which drove Janco mad as he was constantly fighting with the sun. Her dark hair and eyes as well were trademark Sitian features. Sadness panged at him though as he realised it would mean her travelling to Sitia and leaving Ixia temporarily. But she would come back, right?

“You’re joking. Right?”

“Why would I joke?”

Yelena frowned slightly. “Before he died, Mogkan said something about the Zaltana bloodline.”

“Zaltana!” Irys laughed and Janco was momentarily startled by the noise coming from such a stern faced woman. “I think they did lose a girl. My goodness, you’re in for a real surprise if you’re part of the Zaltana clan. That would explain why you alone didn’t cave in under Mogkan’s spell.”

So her strength was a family trait? He wondered with a mix of amusement and fear, what her parents were like. Were they as stubborn and determined as she was? Did she have siblings? These were all questions he was sure she was struggling with but she kept quiet, instead choosing to ask about the Commander.

Irys’ smile disappeared and she explained how she had been unable to make any progress with the Commander, and that he had retreated into a white place. He was relieved to hear however that the Commander’s mind was still there, unlike those poor children. Yelena tilted her head, lost in thought, before asking to try and have a go herself. Irys nodded and Yelena turned to Janco with raised eyebrows.

“Do you need anything before I go?”

He shook his head and shooed her away with his hands. “Go, save the Commander, be a hero. Use your weird magical powers.”

Doubt flickered in her expression but she nodded and followed Irys out of the room. He settled back and stared at the cracked ceiling, trying to count the thousands of cracks that spread like tiny rivers of blackness. He shuddered at the thought of how many creepy crawlies were hiding in the cracks.

So much had changed over the last few months, it was insane. He had met Yelena, who at first he had thought was just a mindless murderer, and then had decided she was a friend, and then he had realised that she was his soulmate, as cheesy as that sounded. And then he had discovered all of her past at the same time, and that she had magic. Anyone else would probably have crumbled with the weight of the information. But not him. It had been difficult, painful even, to hear about her past but he had accepted what had been. She after all had had to live through it all. She had suffered a thousand times more than any of them. And if she could make it through the other side fine, then so could he.

Several hours later he heard footsteps down the corridor and a tired looking Yelena stumbled through the door, and paused at his bedside. He took one look at her and shifted across in the bed, groaning as he did so. His wound was healing, but slowly. It was only the painkillers that the medic was giving him that kept him going. He gestured to the empty spot and Yelena almost collapsed into it, curling up at his side, against him.

“I did it.” She whispered. “I saved the Commander with my weird magic powers.”

His mouth twitched and he leaned, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I knew you would.”

He didn’t get a response as she fell asleep and all he could hear was her steady breathing. Saving the Commander must have taken everything she had. Who would have thought that the Commander’s poison taster would have magical powers. Panic and fear jolted through him and tried not to jump out of bed and find someone. The Commander had to know she had powers now, and magicians were outlawed in Ixia. The penalty was death. Surely he couldn't execute the person who had saved him? Surely not. He couldn’t.

Ari stuck his head into the infirmary and smiled when he saw the two of them, however when Janco waved with his free hand, frantically calling him over, the smile disappeared and he hurried to his friend’s side.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” he whispered and they both glanced at Yelena who didn’t react to their worried whispers.

“The Commander knows that Yelena has magic now.”

Ari nodded. “Yeah, she just saved him. It was amazing. Even Irys couldn’t save the Commander but Yelena just went for it and did it first time round.”

“That’s great but magicians are outlawed remember?”

The colour disappeared from Ari’s face and Janco sagged, relieved his friend had finally gotten the point. “But surely he wouldn’t kill Yelena given she just saved his life?”

“You never know with the Commander!”

They sat there in silence for a moment, both of them studying the poison taster who was still blissfully asleep, unaware of the danger her life was in. Ari stood up again, putting his hands in his pockets and then taking them out again.

“I’m going to go and find Valek...” he murmured, disappearing out of the room again. Janco turned and wrapped his free arm around Yelena, pulling her closer despite the pain it caused him. He couldn’t lose her. Not now. Not after everything that had happened.

\---

Everyone had gathered in the infirmary, including the Commander who looked annoyed at having been dragged out of his office. He had tried to call the meeting there but everyone had kicked up a fuss about Janco not being present and given they couldn’t bring him to the meeting, in the end they had to bring the meeting to him. He was sitting up in his bed, his heart racing as everyone stood around the room watching the Commander in anticipation of his next words. He had agreed to honor the trade treaty, despite the fact it had been enacted under the influence of Mogkan’s magic, and Irys had bo staffed her head gratefully. The Commander turned his attention to Yelena and Janco’s heart skipped a beat. Ari shifted uncomfortably as well.

“Yelena,” His tone was formal and it didn’t help calm Janco’s nerves. “You have saved my life and for that, I thank you. But you have magical abilities that are not tolerated in Ixia. I have no choice but to sign an order for your execution.”

Everything went white and there was a loud ringing in Janco’s ears.  _ No _ . Ari tried to lunge for the Commander but Valek put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. Janco’s partner stood there, fuming and visibly shaking. Janco, himself, was shaking. No. This couldn’t be happening. The Commander held out a piece of paper to Valek but he didn’t take it. Unexpected. Janco wondered what Ari had discussed with him earlier when he had left the room.

“Sir, I’ve always believed that having a magician work for us would be beneficial and could have prevented this particular situation,” Valek said calmly, his voice showing no emotion. “We can trust her.”

The Commander nodded and rested his arm on the desk, still clutching the death sentence. “A valid point. Even though we trust her, even though she saved my life, I must follow the Code of Behavior. To do otherwise would be a sign of weakness, something I can’t afford right now, especially after this business with Mogkan. Plus, the Generals and my advisers will not trust her.” He held out the order to Valek again and Janco couldn’t stay quiet anymore.

“If you try and kill her, you have to go through me first.”

Yelena gave him a pained look and shook her head.  _ No _ , she mouthed at him. Valek turned and studied him as well but the Commander let out a quiet sigh. “Janco, you have already been skewered enough. Don’t add to it.” Janco turned his gaze to Valek and gave him a desperate look. Valek  _ had  _ to understand. His boss studied him for a few more seconds, his face not revealing anything, before turning back to the Commander.

“I won’t take it.”

“You would disobey a direct order?” the Commander asked.

“No. If I don’t take the order, then I won’t have to disobey it.”

“And if I make it a verbal order?”

Valek glanced at Yelena for a brief moment before pulling a knife from his belt. He didn’t even move to attack but before Janco could even lunge out of bed, Ari had drawn his sword and was holding it ready to defend her. Janco tried to get out of bed but groaned as pain shot through him and he collapsed back into the bed. Blood blossomed on the bandages tied around him and Yelena mouthed at him to stay.

“You’ll have to get through me first.” Ari informed Valek, but before Valek could reply Yelena had stepped forwards and put her hand on his, gently forcing him to lower the sword.  
“No, Ari.”

“ _ Please _ .” Janco begged. He felt so useless, being stuck in the bed whilst Yelena was on the brink of death. One word from the Commander and he knew, despite how Valek felt, that she would be dead. And a part of Janco would die with her. Both Valek and the Commander turned back to study him and he felt the weight of the Commander’s stare, heavy and powerful. Taking a deep breath he returned the Commander’s stare, gazing into the man’s golden eyes. They held one another’s gaze for what seemed like eternity before the Commander finally looked away and studied the others. No-one was breathing when he finally spoke.

“I’ve signed the order, per the Code,” the Commander finally said. “I will assign someone else to carry it out. It may take a few days for me to find a suitable person.” He gave Yelena and Irys a pointed look. “This order is valid in Ixia only. You’re all dismissed.” With that, he strode out of the room and Janco almost collapsed with relief. Ari let out a whoop of joy and grabbed Yelena, pulling her into a tight bear hug. Janco caught Valek’s sapphire gaze, which was warm for once, and his boss smirked slightly, giving him a brief nod before disappearing out of the room. Irys and Ari promptly followed leaving Yelena and Janco on their own. She immediately rushed into his arms and kissed him with a desperate urgency, which he returned with equal passion.

“I almost can’t believe it.” she whispered, pressing her forehead against his as she stayed perched on the edge of his bed.

“I know. I was so sure that I was about to have to fight Valek. Not that I would have survived of course, but then at least you could say I died heroically.”

Yelena smirked. “Does fighting your boss because you disagree with his boss’ orders really count as being heroic?”

“Sure it does.”

Silence hung over them for a moment before Yelena spoke, sadness filling her voice. “I wish you could come with me.”

“I can. Just throw me over the back of a horse and I’ll be fine.”

She laughed and hit him gently in the arm. “You know you wouldn’t survive that. We’d be leaving a blood trail from here to Ixia.”

“Worth it to spend time with you.” He pressed another kiss to her lips and she smiled, shaking her head and taking his hand, threading her fingers through his.

“I’d rather have you with all your blood inside you. Anyway, you’ll be here with me until you’re well enough to actually visit me.” She pressed her spare hand to the butterfly that hung around her neck and he smiled. Since giving her the butterfly pendant, he couldn’t think of a more appropriate gift. He’d have to find a way to repay Valek in some way. “You  _ will  _ come and visit me, right? You’re not just going to forget about me when I live in Sitia.”

“Of course not. I need somewhere to work on my tan with Ari. And you’ll be the perfect free accommodation.”

She snorted. “Maybe I’ll start charging.”

“What’s the currency? Money? Kisses? More?” He winked at her and she elbowed him, making him double with both pain and laughter. She leant back into his embrace and they lay in silence for a couple of moments, just enjoying one another’s company.

“Your switchblade was right. We fought together and weathered some sieges.”

He laughed. Of course she had managed to figure it out. “You little fox. When did you figure it out?”

“On the way here. I borrowed some of Valek’s books and translated it. I can’t believe we’re just going to be friends forever though.” She pouted and he rolled his eyes, pulling her towards him.

“I think we’re a little past friends.” He pulled her into a deep kiss and everything around them faded away.


End file.
